Delhi: No detention provision review

Almost all state governments ” except Karnataka ” are in favour of repealing s.16 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, which mandates automatic promotion of all children enroled in classes I-VIII. This was confirmed by a statement issued by the newly reconstituted Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE), which held its first meeting (after the swearing-in of the BJP/NDA government at the Centre in May 2014) on August 19. But playing it safe, Union human resource development (HRD) minister Smriti Irani has directed state governments to send their comments vis-a-vis s.16 to the ministry by September. According to sources within the HRD ministry, the erstwhile UPA government™s decision making the class X school-leaving exam optional is also under review. Ab initio after the RTE Act became law on April 1, 2010, reservations were expressed about the impact of s.16 on the country™s primary education system notorious for poor learning outcomes, as reported routinely by the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) surveys conducted by the Mumbai-based NGO, Pratham. These misgivings escalated into protests forcing CABE to establish a sub-committee headed by then Haryana education minister, Geeta Bhukkal, to examine the pros and cons of s.16. In September 2013, the sub-committee recommended a review of s.16. œIn absence of ground preparation (sic), the intentions of the provision have not been met at all, says the Bhukkal report. Now 18 months after the BJP/NDA government took charge in Delhi, action is imminent on the recommendations of the sub-committee™s report. Some educationists see no big deal in bringing back exams and retaining under-performers in the same class. œA line has to be drawn against automatic promotions, whether in class III or class V can be decided later. There™s a consensus within the teachers™ community that automatic promotions are harmful to children and society, says Rachna Pant, principal of Ramjas School, RK Puram, Delhi. However, notwithstanding overwhelming support for repeal or modification of s.16 within the teachers™ community, some educationists maintain that there™s no connection between exam success and real learning outcomes. Some MPs have recently voiced support for liberal- left academics who oppose dilution of the RTE Act. According to them, there™s a failure in implementation of the Act rather than in the legislation itself. Therefore an amendment to repeal s.16 may not enjoy smooth sailing through a fractious Parliament. The no-detention debate has been complicated by the introduction of the comprehensive and continuous evaluation (CCE) system mandated by s. 29 (h) of the RTE Act, which was inserted to offset the impact of s.16. Supporters of the RTE Act aruge that CCE was hastily introduced without sufficient training given to teachers. Dr. Anita Rampal, professor of education at Delhi University says that the demand for the repeal of s.16 which dilutes the examinations obsession of school education, is unwarranted. œCCE was not understood well. Manuals produced by CBSE were not sufficient and teachers also never got any meaningful orientation. It was implemented in a traditionalist…