Delhi Government issues new regulations for promoting students in grades 5 and 8

New Delhi, 8 October 2022: Delhi government has recently announced that in the academic year 2023–24, students in classes 5 and 8 will not be advanced to the next level if they do not pass the yearly exams, amending the “no detention” policy for kids up to class 8.

The “no detention” policy was included in the Right to Education Act to safeguard children’s interests, but according to deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, it is actually hurting education of kids.

The new assessment criteria’ goal is to treat elementary classrooms with the same seriousness as upper classes, not to imprison any particular child. However, if a student is unable to pass the exams for classes 5 and 8, they will be given the opportunity to retake the exam within two months of the results being announced, according to the officials.

The Delhi Municipal Corporation, New Delhi Municipal Corporation, Delhi Cantonment Board, and all recognized unaided schools within Delhi shall follow these recommendations, according to officials from the directorate of education.

The new regulations also state that in classes 5 and 8, in addition to a midterm and annual exams, extracurricular activities will be used to evaluate the learning of the students. Project-based activities, a portfolio, a child’s involvement in the classroom, and participation in extracurricular activities like athletics, dance, and theater, among others, are some of these.

According to Sisodia’s statement, the states were asked to decide whether or not they wished to keep the policy in place. Then, an advisory council was established, which had suggested merely detaining fifth- and eighth-grade pupils if they failed to receive 40% on their reassessment.

“The no-detention policy was incredibly advanced, but the education system was not ready to fully benefit from it. However, we must prepare such a system to lay a solid foundation at the basic level that focuses on a child’s overall growth, ” it said.