Some parents of “weak” students say that the schools are forcing them to either transfer schools or fail a class.
Story so far: As per the RTE Act, no student can be held back till they finish their elementary education, i.e. reach Class 8. Class 9 onwards, it’s a free-for-all. Now, the Covid-19 pandemic effectively rocked the education system quite a bit, and the effects can still be felt by some.
- To keep badly performing students from pulling the whole school’s board scores down, the schools are refusing to advance “weak” Class 9 students.
Why it matters: The learning loss is very real and must be addressed. According to a school principal, there’s been a 10% increase in students that are deemed unfit for promotion to Class 10.
Available options: According to parents, the schools are forcing Transfer Certificates on them. And if they refuse to change schools, the students get detained in the previous year. Those in support of learning continuity for students believe that the government should get involved and make the schools go easy on kids affected by the pandemic.