Fresh AAP govt ad slams Centre no- detention rule

In its fresh ad salvo, the Delhi government on Wednesday accused the Centre of not giving assent to the bill that seeks removal of the nodetention policy for students until Class 8.

According to the government, over 50 per cent students studying in government schools failed to clear the Class IX examination last year. “When they ( students) enter Class IX they are suddenly confronted with tests and exams, which many fail to clear,” the government said in its newspaper advertisement. It added that some students get depressed and even “commit suicide”.

In response to the government’s ad, Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta shot off a letter to deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and asked him why he is misleading people of Delhi with such advertisements. He claimed mass failure of students is due to government’s lacklustre performance in the education sector.

As per the Right to Education Act, no student can be detained in the same class on failing in exams until Class VIII. To change this, the Delhi Assembly passed the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education ( Delhi Amendment) Bill, 2015 in December.

The proposed law will make exams compulsory for all classes. The students who fail the exam will be held back in the same class.

Rajbir Singh Chihikara, senior vicepresident, Government School Teachers’ Association, said the nodetention policy should be limited to Class V.

He added that all students seeking admission in secondary schools should be made to take an eligibility test.