NEW DELHI: Parents and activists have alleged that several prominent schools in the national capital allegedly held back students in classes 6 and 7, in stark violation of the Right to Education Act (RTE) of 2009.
The Ministry of Education’s Department of School Education and Literacy notified guidelines on ‘Examination and Holding Back in Certain Cases’ in December 2024, after the 2019 amendment to RTE Act.
Educationist and advocate Ashok Agarwal, president of the All India Parents’ Association (AIPA), said, “The amended rules allow schools to detain students in classes 5 and 8 only, that toom after giving them additional opportunity for re-examination within two months from the date of declaration of results. There was no detention policy till Class 8 before the amendment. However, the government revised the act to include a provision for detention in Class 5.”
Several parents complained over the issue, alleging that schools asked their children to either repeat a year in classes 6 or 7, or take a school-leaving certificate. “My son is in Class VI and we have been told that if he does not clear the re-exam scheduled in May, he will not be promoted to the next class. But norms say that students cannot be detained in classes other than 5 and 8. My son couldn’t score well due to bad health this year,” a Gurugram-based parent said.
According to Ashok Ganguly, former chairman of the Central Board of Secondary Education, the RTE Act, the National Education Policy, and the National Curriculum Framework prohibits any school from refusing promotion to a student in classes 6 and 7.
Amendment enables schools to hold back Class 5, 8 students
In December 2024, the Centre had amended the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Rules, 2010, giving state governments power to conduct regular exams for students in classes 5 and 8, with the provision to hold them back if they fail.
This marked a departure from the long-standing ‘no-detention’ policy, a cornerstone of the educational framework since the enactment of Right to Education Act in 2009.