The central government has made an important change to the education policy by ending the "no-detention policy" for students in fifth and eighth grades. This means that if students in these grades fail their final exams, they can now be held back and will have to repeat the same grade.

"The Union Education Ministry has taken a big decision and abolished the 'No Detention Policy'. Students who fail the annual examination in classes 5 and 8 will be failed," Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy, posted on X today. He further said, "Failed students will have a chance to retake the test within two months, but if they fail again, they will not be promoted. The school will not expel a student until the 8th grade. Central Government took this decision intending to improve the learning outcome among children."

A new rule now applies to over 3,000 central government schools, including Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas and Sainik Schools, according to senior officials from the education ministry. This decision, announced in an official notification, reverses the 2019 amendment to the Right to Education Act. Under this rule, students who fail their exams will get a second chance to pass within two months. If they still don’t meet the promotion criteria after the re-exam, they will have to repeat the same grade. “If the child appearing in the re-examination fails to fulfil the promotion criteria again, he shall be held back in fifth class or eighth class, as the case may be,” the notification stated.

In July 2018, the Lok Sabha passed a bill to change the Right to Education (RTE) Act, ending the 'no detention policy' in schools. The amendment introduced regular exams for Classes 5 and 8. Students who fail these exams would be given another chance to pass through a re-exam within two months. In 2019, the Rajya Sabha approved the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill. This change aimed to improve learning outcomes by removing the 'no detention policy' for students up to Class 8. It allowed state governments to decide whether to keep or end this policy. States could now hold back students in Classes 5 and 8 if they failed their final exams.

Additionally, teachers will offer more guidance to close any learning gaps for students who are lagging behind, according to the government. The government has promised that no student will be dismissed before finishing elementary school, nevertheless. "During the holding back of the child, the class teacher shall guide the child as well as the parents of the child, if necessary, and provide specialised inputs after identifying the learning gaps at various stages of assessment," the notification said. The federal government's move follows 16 states and two union territories that had already lifted the "no-detention policy" for these classes following the RTE Amendment Bill of 2019, despite the fact that education is primarily a state concern. Others have chosen to stick with the policy, while other states and union territories have not yet made a decision.

"Since school education is a state subject, states can make their decision in this regard. Already 16 states and 2 UTs including Delhi have done away with the no-detention policy for these two classes. Haryana and Puducherry have not made any decision yet while remaining states and UTs have decided to continue with the policy," a senior official said. According to the administration, each state is free to decide how to handle this issue.