Welcoming the amendment in the Right to Education (RTE) Act that allows holding back students of Class V and VIII on the basis of their academic performance in exams from the academic session 2019-20, State Education Minister Bhupendra Singh Chudasama said he will further request the HRD Minister to allow states to assess students in Class III too.
Till now, under the no-detention policy as mentioned by the Right to Education Act, 2009, no student could be held back from Class I to Class VIII.
“With the changes in the Right to Education Act passed by the RajyaSabha on Friday, from the coming academic session, students of Class V and VIII in Gujarat will be assessed on the basis of their performance in examinations. I am meeting HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar on Saturday. As we are of the opinion I will request him to allow states to assess and hold back students in Class III as well. Will request him to leave it to the states, those who want to can follow this in Class III too,” added Chudasama.
“We have been demanding this and we welcome the changes in the RTE Act passed in both the Houses. Already, the no detention policy has badly impacted the standard of education in Gujarat. The feedback we have been receiving from schools and teachers has blamed only the no- detention policy for increased non-seriousness among students and parents. We hope that with this change students, parents and teachers will take education seriously.”