Right to Education Amendment Act (2019) and Detention Debate: A Critical Analysis of Non-Detention and Detention Policies in Indian Elementary Education

Abstract

The enactment of Right of Children for Free and compulsory education act (RTE), gave elementary education the status of fundamental right. It has given the provision of non-detention by mandating that no students admitted in schools should be held back in any class till 14^th age. In 2012, Central Advisory board of Education (CABE) committee under Ministry of Human resource Development of India was suggested for implementing detention from 5^thstandard onwards by reviewing the existing non-detention policy. On January 3^rd 2019, the Parliament voted to amend the no-detention provision of the Right to Education Act, 2009 by permitting the state governments to take decision on detaining children in Class 5 and Class 8 if they fail an annual exam twice. The suggestions and perceptions of teachers was the significant base for various policy interventions to scrap down the existing provision of non-detention. The provision of detaining students has already been implemented by the State Educational boards such as Punjab and Delhi. This research is a critical study of detention and non-detention policies through a transactional model of analysis by conducting the field research and connecting it with the existing gaps between current policy level interventions and prevalent researches over the issue. It has found that the current policy level interventions and teacher perceptions are showing vivid disconnections between the aspects of quality and equity, short-term and long term impacts, and field perceptions and existing research findings over the debate. By critically analysing and bridging all the connections and gaps, the research is finally suggesting that non-detention with remedial strategy is more effective than the provision of detention.