Warjri opposes Centre’s ‘no detention’ policy

NEW DELHI: Education Minister Roshan Warjri on Tuesday said examination for Class X students should be compulsory to make them more competitive.
Speaking at the first meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE), Warjri said compulsory examination instills a sense of competition in the minds of students and helps to have an improved multifaceted education system where students, teachers and parents have their contribution.
Though the Centre was in favour of implementation of ‘no detention’ policy, which does not allow any student to be failed till Class VIII, it was left to the discretion of states to decide on the matter.
The decision to amend the current provisions of the Right to Education (RTE) Act in this regard was taken in the meeting chaired by HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar.
“It was agreed that the Centre may bring in a suitable amendment that will give states the freedom to review the ‘no detention’ policy,” Javadekar told reporters after the meeting.
Many states, including Meghalaya, have opposed this provision complaining that the quality of education has deteriorated because of this provision.
In her speech, Warjri said the National Education Policy should also include contributions of Christian and other minority institutions. “In a country like ours with unity in diversity, everybody’s efforts should find a place,” she said.
The minister also opposed compulsory inclusion of Sanskrit in the syllabus and said the present policy of English, Hindi and the mother tongue should continue. She also reiterated that both Khasi and Garo languages should be included in the Eighth Schedule. “This is a very old demand made by the hill state from time to time,” she added.
The meeting deliberated on several aspects of the various levels of education and how efforts can be made to improve educational levels of students.