In a significant change to school education, the Centre has scrapped the 'no-detention policy' for classes 5 and 8 in schools under its control. This means that students who fail the year-end exams will no longer automatically be promoted. Instead, they will have the chance to retake the exam after additional coaching within two months of the results. If they still fail, they will be held back in the same grade.

This move follows amendments to the Right to Education Act (RTE) in 2019, which allowed at least 16 states and two Union Territories to end the no-detention policy for these grades. The new rule will apply to over 3,000 schools, including Kendriya Vidyalayas, Sainik Schools, and Navodaya Vidyalayas.

However, the government clarified that no child can be expelled before completing their education. States have the freedom to decide on implementing this change, with Haryana and Puducherry yet to make a decision. Other states and UTs have either continued or scrapped the policy.