No detention till Class 5: Draft National Education Policy

The draft proposal includes a common national curriculum for Science, Mathematics and English in schools across the country. It envisages introducing practical lessons in Science subjects from Class 6 onwards and two levels of examination for Class 10 in Mathematics, Science and English. The draft proposes the no detention policy upto Class 5 only and the system of detention will be restored at the upper primary stage. 

Academically weak students will be identified, based on Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) conducted by schools, for providing remedial instructions. In the common national curriculum, a part of the curricula will be common across the state for subjects like Social Sciences, and the rest would be left to the respective states. 

Commenting on the draft policy, educationist S S Rajagopalan says, “In many countries it is the class teacher or the school that selects a curriculum. Any decision should be based on the background of students.” Welcoming the policy, S Vaidhyasubramaniam, of SASTRA University says, “It now requires prioritisation at the policy level to ensure that the targets are achieved,” he added. 

The draft NEP is available on the ministry’s website. Views and suggestions from the public can be mailed to nep.edu@gov.in until July 31.