MP scraps no-detention policy .....

[Gurumurthy K]

there is a huge pressure to bring back exams/detention ... this is not going to solve the problem :-(

Guru

source -  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/MP-scraps-no-detention-policy-to-restore-quality-education/articleshow/55106340.cms

MP scraps no-detention policy to restore quality education
Sumaiya Yousuf | TNN | Updated: Oct 28, 2016, 08:02 IST

BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh government on Thursday revoked the no-detention policy, a mandatory provision in Right to Education (RTE) Act for automatic promotion of students till Class 8. This may, however, become effective in the next academic session in the state.


The move comes after Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) meet on October 25 proposed that no child shall be failed till Class 5 while giving a free hand to states to decide whether they want to hold back students beyond Class 5. The high-level meeting was held in Delhi in which education ministers of 21 states, including Madhya Pradesh school education minister Vijay Shah took part. The majority view was that not detaining students till class 8 was adversely affecting learning and teaching levels. A final decision on scrapping the policy was taken on Thursday after a recommendation from a panel of state education officials headed by Vijay Shah. Confirming the move, minister of state for school education Deepak Joshi said the government convened a meeting and concluded the policy should be revoked to restore quality education .


"We reviewed the policy and found it was adversely affecting both students and teachers. We found teachers were taking their job for granted as they knew students would be anyway promoted to the next class," he said.


He said barring schools which follow CBSE pattern, the policy applies to all government and private schools in the state. According to 2009 RTE Act, primary and middle class students cannot be failed, irrespective of their performance in exams.


Earlier, surveys by the government and NGOs revealed that the detention system raised the dropout rate among students, particularly from economically and socially weaker sections. To overcome this, the no-detention policy was introduced to provide schoolchildren with an environment free from fear, anxiety and stress .But this did not have the desired impact in Madhya Pradesh. Sources in education department said the policy failed because most schools were not complying with guidelines.

Guru

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