How will Govt of India's new policy change affect the adoption of PAL in Government Schools?

Over the years most of us have been familiar with the No Detention Policy which was introduced by the Government of India under Section 16 of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009. The thought behind the policy was that no child studying in Grade 1 to 8 would be held back until the completion of elementary education. The primary objective was to create a stress-free learning environment and reduce dropout rates by automatically promoting students, thereby encouraging continued enrolment in schools.

The fallback of this policy however is that students continue to get promoted even while having significant learning gaps from the previous grades. As a student moves further up, the learning gap continues to widen till it reaches a stage where students experience excessive difficulty to cope up. That’s when they dropout.

According to the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2021-22 data, the dropout rates at various educational levels are as follows:

• Primary Level (Classes 1-5): 1.5%
• Upper Primary Level (Classes 6-8): 1.8%
• Secondary Level (Classes 9-10): Over 17%

You can see that the moment a student reaches Grade 9, the drop out rate suddenly increases. All the students who are dropping out are essentially becoming a part of the unskilled work force, which our country does not need. Contrary to this, for India to truly become Viksit Bharat by 2047, we need a workforce which is well educated and skilled. And for this happen, one of the key challenges that need to be solved is to ensure we address the learning gaps in students and enable them to bridge these gaps and achieve grade level educational outcomes.

Towards the end of 2024, the government decided to revoke the No-Detention Policy with a hope to address the exact same challenge. The government in their notification mentioned that the policy is being revoked due to concerns about declining academic standards and student accountability. It has long been argued that automatic promotion without assessments leads to students lacking essential competencies appropriate for their grade levels. The absence of examinations was believed to contribute to a deterioration in learning outcomes, as students progressed through grades without achieving necessary learning milestones.

The latest policy amendment introduces a revised detention policy applicable to students in Grades 5 and 8 in schools established, owned, or controlled by the Central Government, or the administrators of Union Territories without legislatures. Under this amendment, if a student fails to meet the promotion criteria after the annual examination, they will receive additional instruction and an opportunity to appear for a re-examination within two months. If the student still does not pass, they may be detained in the same class.

This policy shift aims to reintroduce accountability and ensure that students achieve the required learning outcomes before progressing to higher classes.

While the intention of the policy is at the right place but how will the outcomes be achieved. Is our existing school set up well equipped to address the learning gaps in students? How will it happen? If we are expecting that just by revoking the policy, students themselves will have the motivation or perhaps their parents and hence will become accountable, it's a very difficult proposition to imagine.

We fear that the student dropout rates even in primary and upper primary level may also go up if students would not be able to clear exams repeatedly. We cannot just rely on the self accountability of teachers or students or their parents to ensure India gets a larger pool of skilled workforce.

However, one tool which if adopted across the government schools along with the implementation of this policy can certainly make a strong case of addressing the learning gaps. And that is PAL standing for Personalised Adaptive Learning.

The only way that students in government schools can reach their grade level is if we can provide them additional remedial support which is personalised and hence adjusts to their learning level and interests. We have to remember that unlike students in urban cities who have access to better educated parents and coaching or tuition centres to cover up their learning gaps, students in rural areas rely solely on their school for all their learning. And government school teachers with the limited time they have inside the classroom will have to be supported with a lot of data & insights about their students. Further they will have to be trained on how to utilise the personalised data of every student to fine tune lesson delivery in the classroom.

To conclude it is imperative that for this policy to achieve its intended outcomes, it is supported with the implementation of PAL in our government school classrooms. We believe that PAL has the potential to transform government school classrooms by providing targeted, data-driven interventions that address individual student needs. By adjusting to a student’s learning level and interests, PAL ensures that no child is left behind, regardless of their starting point. It also empowers teachers with insights and actionable data, enabling them to deliver more focused and impactful lessons.

To make this vision a reality, all stakeholders in the education ecosystem—including policymakers, educators, edtech providers, and community organizations—must collaborate to scale PAL solutions across government schools. This involves:

1. Integrating PAL into the classroom: Providing schools with the necessary digital tools and resources.
2. Training teachers: Equipping educators with the skills to interpret data and use it to personalise their teaching methods.
3. Tracking data-backed outcomes: Regularly assessing the impact of PAL on student learning to refine and improve implementation.

While the policy’s intention is commendable, its success hinges on adopting innovative solutions like PAL to bridge learning gaps and create an equitable education system. By combining the policy with PAL, we can ensure that students in government schools are not only retained but also empowered to achieve their true potential.