The standard and quality of education in the country is always an interesting topic. The Right to Education Act 2009, brought a few more points of contention to the fore, one in particular was the no detention policy. In Goa, this policy was put into action in 2011.
Now, five years later the government claims that this policy is ineffective. There are many reasons why this judgment on a revolution act is basically jumping the gun. For one, it is way too soon to sound defeatist. It took more than five years to put the policy together, calling it ineffective in that exact amount of time doesn’t make sense. Two, there is this common misconception that the ‘no detention policy’ means ‘no assessment.’
That is what the Continuous Comprehensive Policy (CCE) is
for. The CCE is meant to evaluate the students in different areas,
academic and non-academic, as well assessing their personal
development in terms of attitude and aptitude. There are
very tight guidelines for this evaluation process.
The RTE was created to ensure
compulsory education for all students
and to prevent dropouts. The
Goa government, as well as others
across India, claims that the fact
that a student can’t fail a class has
made them and their parents complacent.
That is understandable,
but there are other ways to get a
student interested. The previous
education policy was insistent on examinations, one that put
unnecessary pressure on students and more often than not,
made learning an exercise rather than a process. The no detention
policy aims to combat that with enough space and
time to actually learn.
But this is where teachers and institutions can adapt. Regular
assessments have to be conducted and students evaluated.
If slow growth or no growth at all is noted, then there is time
for course correction, in the form of special courses or remedial
classes. If a child doesn’t pass the regular assessment then
they are set another special exam within two weeks to a month,
to ensure that they study for it. This happens in schools across
America and Europe too, where a similar no detention policy
is in effect. The CCE provides the basic framework to allow for
a child’s holistic development, but here the teachers play an
important role. The parents too need to come on board and
understand that the responsibility for their children’s development
lies with them too. Turning the Parent Teachers Associations
into stakeholders in this process will ensure their
participation.
In 2015, a ministerial panel for the national education policy
suggested that proper assessments be made at the standard
five and standard eight levels, before allowing students to
proceed to the next class. That might work, but that still adds
to the ‘examination’ image, rather than taking away from it.
However, putting children under a little pressure with regular
quick tests doesn’t hurt. It also preps them for the bigger ones
in the future, at standard ten and beyond.
It will certainly take a while before one can properly judge if
the new policy has improved learning outcomes in students.
While the policy has changed, the method of teaching or the
educational content is still the same as it was in the past. One
must change those too, adapting with the times and the new
policy. All said and done, the RTE must not be a scapegoat for
poor learning outcomes.
