Parliament passes Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2018

Parliament has passed the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2018, with the Rajya Sabha approving it on 3rd January 2019. The bill seeks to amend a law to abolish the ‘no detention policy’ till Class VIII by enabling state governments to allow schools to fail students. The Lok Sabha had already passed the bill seeking to further amend the Right to Education (RTE) Act of 2009 to abolish the no-detention policy in schools on July 2018. Under the current provisions of the RTE Act, no student can be detained till class 8 and all students are promoted to the next grade. As per the amendment, it would be left to the States to decide whether to continue the no-detention policy. HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar assured the Rajya Sabha that no child will be excluded from school in case he or she fails. The Bill provides for a regular examination in classes V and VIII and if the child fails, he or she shall be given additional opportunity for re-examination in two months’ time.