'Bengal backed scrapping no-detention clause sans consultations'

The West Bengal Right To Education Forum (WBRTE) on Wednesday criticised the state government's decision to support the centre's move to revoke the RTE Act's 'no-detention' clause.

The Bengal government has sent an affirmation letter to Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani backing the Centre's decision of scrapping of the provision and bringing back the 'pass-fail' system at the primary school level.

The forum said the state government gave the green signal to the Centre over scrapping the 'pass-fail' system without any consultation with members of the civil society and the public.

"They did not hold any discussion with the civil society or ask for any suggestion from the public which goes against the spirit of RTE Act. 2009.

"Acting without consultation goes against best interest of the children towards academic progress. Suddenly in the middle of the holiday they announced their decision," Md. Israfil, joint convener of the forum, told IANS.

Israfil said scrapping of the 'no-detention' clause will put pressure on students, especially on those studying in government-run schools in remote and rural areas.

"The act introduces the continuous cumulative education (CCE) which means the examination process is done across the school year and not just at specific periods of the year.

"This provision has not been implemented in a majority of the schools in the country and had this been implemented, it would have been easier on the students instead of bringing in a system of examinations and putting additional pressure," he added.

The forum has appealed to Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee on the issue and is conducting a consultation workshop here on November 3.