Armed with a growing chorus against the no-detention policy at the elementary school level (up to Class VIII), the Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry is likely to make a case for reconsidering – if not reversing — this provision of the Right to Education Act (RTE), 2009, at the first meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) under the Modi government’s watch this Wednesday.
The report of the ‘CABE Committee on Assessment and Implementation of CCE [Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation] in the context of the No-Detention Provision under the RTE Act’ is one of the items on the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting.
Headed by the then Education Minister of Haryana, the Committee had flagged certain issues with the provision and sought to draw linkages with the declining levels of learning. This sub-committee of CABE is learnt to have recommended that the no-detention policy be implemented in a phased manner so that all stakeholders understand what it entails instead of interpreting it as zero assessment. Further, the CABE Committee was of the view that it should be applied only till Class V instead of all the way up to Class VIII.
Since the report was finalised in the last year of the UPA government, no action was taken then. But after Smriti Irani took over as HRD Minister, she has held a series of meetings including with school children in which the general opinion favoured – to the surprise of many – examinations; not just at the lower levels but also in Class X where the once dreaded Board exams had been made optional during the UPA regime. The main complaint against CCE was that it did not prepare students well for competitive examinations including school-leaving Boards.
Alarmed by the growing demand for reversal of the provision – even from several State governments – educationists claim that the law should not be blamed for poor implementation.
Corporate agenda“The RTE Act clearly spelt out how CCE should be implemented. Just by failing children, you do not make them good learners,’’ said Anita Rampal, Professor of Education at Delhi University. Pointing to the manner in which “corporatised organisations’’ working in education are also pushing for a testing system – with some even offering to conduct the tests – she said there also appeared to be a corporate agenda at work.
Also on CABE’s agenda will be RTE’s extension to cover education from pre-school to Class X; instead of just six-to-14 year-olds. Though not averse to extended RTE coverage, Madhu Prasad of RTE Forum wondered whether this was simply more posturing by a government that has already pared down the education budget.
