No-detention policy may have failed learning levels

NEW DELHI: Poor learning levels of government-run school students can be attributed to faulty pedagogy, implementation of the no-detention policy without changing

NEW DELHI: Poor learning levels of government-run school students can be attributed to faulty pedagogy, implementation of the no-detention policy without changing teaching styles and goals and a weak foundation, says an expert.

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Learning levels of class 6 students are much below what they should be, a government report released on Tuesday has found and educationists are not surprised.

The Delhi government’s report has pointed out that 90% of the students who come to Delhi government schools’ class 6 are from municipal corporation-run and small private schools.

“They are now in our schools and we accept their responsibility and want to ensure that all children get good quality education,” said a government official.

A poor learning base at the primary level means a student finds it tough to cope up in senior classes. The no-detention policy means the student passes without learning what she should have learnt.

“The no-detention policy was never meant to be a no-teaching and no-learning policy. Changes that were required in classrooms and teaching methods never happened and as a result, we had children who couldn’t read despite being in senior classes. Our system assumes that children will learn to read on their own. We have no strategy to tackle the situation when this assumption is proved wrong,” said Shailendra Sharma, from NGO Pratham who is also working with the Delhi government as an advisor.

Pratham has done extensive work on learning levels in school students.

Questions have been raised about the quality of teaching and learning in the 1,860 schools that have an approximate strength of 10 lakh students.

These schools are only up to class 5. Municipal officials feel the no-detention policy is to be blamed for the mess.

“The no-detention policy is valid on municipal schools as much as it is on the Delhi government schools. The government must realise that getting students to schools and ensuring their attendance is in itself a task as most of the students studying in our schools come from very poor background,” said an education officer of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation.