Detention policy is a double-edged sword

The scrapping of the no-detention policy in central schools is welcome as far as the underlying intent is concerned — identifying and remedying learning gaps among students. Multiple studies suggest that many students arrive in secondary classes without having a grasp of the basics of learning, including reading, writing and arithmetic skills. But whether holding students back — as articulated in the promoted/failed binary — is the right intervention needs to be carefully examined.

Often, learning gaps have as much, if not more, to do with structural factors (school infrastructure, adequacy of teacher numbers and competence, home environment, and nutrition) as individual student capability. Learning gaps in primary and secondary years also have a lot to do with the curriculum load, and therefore, scrapping no detention without the rationalisation of curriculum would be problematic. This also needs to be read with the social background of students. Some of them, especially from socially and educationally backward classes, lack support systems at home to bridge potential gaps arising from infrastructural inadequacies in schools: Many from the Dalit and Adivasi communities could be first-generation learners with limited access to libraries or even books. Addressing these itself would raise the quality of teaching and the general standard of education to the extent that the gaps in learning are bridged.

In the absence of an overhaul of infrastructure, the reintroduction of detentions (in classes five and eight) could turn out to be disastrous. There is an element of shaming in detention, the psychological impact of which can be deep and damaging for children. Good-intentioned policy departures should not lead to children getting demoralised, or worse, dropping out of school.

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