Centre Scraps 'No Fail' Policy For Classes 5 And 8 Students: Pragmatic Or Back To Square One?

In a big move that can have implications on the way children study, and how teachers teach, the ways in which education is accessed in India, the Centre has scrapped the 'no-detention policy' for classes 5 and 8 in schools governed by it, allowing them to fail students who do not clear the year-end exams. This was not unexpected as at least 16 states and two Union Territories have already done away with the 'no-detention policy' for the two grades after an amendment to the Right to Education Act (RTE) in 2019. The official notification says if students fail to clear the annual exams, they will be given additional coaching and an opportunity to take a re-exam within two months of the results. But no child can be expelled by any school until their education is complete, the government has clarified.