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Lok Sabha amends Right to Education Act allowing detention of students until Class VIII

Dated: July 26, 2018

A bill has been passed by the Lok Sabha to amend the Right To Education Act (Right of Children To Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009) wherein it has relaxed the absolute prohibition against holding back a student up to class VII. The amended bill has substituted the present Section 16 of the act which states that no child admitted in a school shall be held back in any class or expelled from school till the completion of elementary education.

The new provision states that there ought to be regular examination in class five and class eight at the end of every academic year. It also mentions that additional opportunity for a student failing in such regular examination has to be given within two months from the date of declaration of result. Beside this, the discretion to allow schools to hold back a student in class five of class eight if he fails in the re-examination is given to the State Governments. It is specifically mentioned that the governments are at liberty to decide by themselves whether to hold back a student in any class till the completion of elementary education or not.

Despite this, there is no amendment in the prohibition of section 16 which states expulsion of a student till completion of elementary education. It is explicitly stated in the substituted provision that no child shall be expelled from school till the completion of elementary education.

Along with this, amendments are made in Section 38 of the principal Act, which gives rule-making power to state governments, to enable rule-making to prescribe the conditions and manner of holding back.

Applying  Section 16 of the principal Act, courts have held that no student can be detained upto class VII for any reason, and that a child has right to promotion until eighth standard even in unaided minority educational institutions. This position will undergo change, if the amendment bill passed by the Lok Sabha on July 18 gets approval from the Rajya Sabha as well.