Giving Compass' Take:

• Earlier in the year, the Indian parliament amended the Right to Education Act, known as the No-detention Policy, which guaranteed enrollment through class one to eight, and allowed detention for classes five or eight. 

• The authors mention the idea that holding kids back when they have failed to learn (without making changes to the process) doesn't produce positive results. Do we similar issues in American schools?

• Here are four methods for effectively funding education in India. 

Along with the original designers of the RTE, a large majority of teachers and students have also advocated against holding children back. More states voted in favour of the No-Detention Policy than those who voted against it.

On 3 January, 2019, parliament amended Section 16 of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, popularly known as the ‘No Detention Policy’ (NDP). The policy guaranteed promotion through class 1-8 for all children, irrespective of their readiness. The now amended policy allows states to frame rules that could re-introduce detention in class 5 or class 8.

The rationale provided for the amendment is as follows: with guaranteed promotion, students and teachers feel no compulsion to learn or teach, which has an adverse impact on learning. The sub-text being — high stakes exams help drive learning.

This notion was tackled by the original framers of RTE, who argued that exams create unnecessary pressure, and detention as a consequence of exams, is unhealthy for children. Holding children back in classrooms where they have failed to learn, without changing anything about the teaching-learning process, doesn’t improve learning. It leads to children dropping out. Additionally, detention in early classes labels children as ‘failures’ too soon; and for that reason alone, detention in elementary school should be prohibited.

It should be noted that RTE did not introduce the idea of no-detention in all states. Pre-RTE, several states already had automatic promotion till class 5 or 8.

National Achievement Survey (NAS) data shows that between 2003 and 2007, 19 out of 28 states with a no-detention policy showed improvements in learning. In other words, states improved their results in 2007 without detaining students. Positive trends in reading were reported in the early ASER surveys of 2005-2007 as well.

The main point here is not whether a no-detention policy helps children, or hurts them. The point is to showcase – with NDP as an example – the troubled state of education policy making in India.

Read the full article about No-Detention policy in India by Natasha Joshi at India Development Review (IDR).