Relevance : GS Paper II (Education)
Arguments given by pro-detention
- Learning achievements come down.
- Certificate of elementary education will certify no learning.
Arguments given by anti-detention
- Fear of failure causes stress and trauma
- Failure pushes children out of system
- Detention will weaken many other provisions of RTE
- Failing children does not make them learn
The limits of ‘class’
- The school is organised class-wise. Hence, the very concept of class contains the idea of detention.
- The class-wise structure on one hand, and CCE on the other, pull the system in opposite directions.
Way forward
- Defining elementary education in terms of learning standards;
- Organising curriculum as a free-paced learning path
- Organising schools as ungraded heterogeneous learning groups
- Introduce the ideas of self-learning and peer group learning
Conclusion
All this will require systemic reforms and to prepare teachers for this change.
