– Mita Mukherjee 

West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari indicated on Sunday that the pass-fail system could be reintroduced in schools, while clarifying that any decision would have to be aligned with the Centre’s National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

Under the existing system, students in state-aided schools in West Bengal are not detained up to Class VIII. The no-detention policy, mandated under the Right to Education (RTE) Act enacted by the central government, was adopted by the then Left Front government in 2009 to prevent children from disadvantaged backgrounds from dropping out of school for fear of failing.

The Trinamool Congress, then in the Opposition, had opposed automatic promotion. However, the no-detention policy continued after the party came to power in 2011.

Following the BJP’s victory in the state elections in May, the new government constituted a school syllabus committee to overhaul the curriculum. The committee is also examining the possibility of scrapping the no-detention policy amid concerns that automatic promotion has contributed to declining academic standards in several schools, particularly in remote rural areas.

Speaking at a programme in Ramnagar, East Midnapore district, Adhikari said the syllabus committee was examining the proposal. “We have to take a decision on reintroducing the pass-fail system based on the syllabus committee’s recommendations and in alignment with NEP 2020. But my personal opinion is that the pass-fail system should return,” he said.

In 2024, the Union government issued a notification abolishing the no-detention policy for Classes V and VIII in schools under its jurisdiction. Under the revised rules, students who fail to meet promotion criteria must be given an opportunity to take a re-examination. Those who fail again may be detained in the same class. However, schools cannot expel students until they complete elementary education.

The revised policy has yet to be implemented, according to a source in the Union education ministry.

West Bengal had also considered scrapping the no-detention policy for Classes V and VIII in 2019, but the proposal was subsequently dropped.

In line with the Centre’s amendment, the state’s school syllabus committee is now considering reintroducing annual examinations from Class V or VI and detaining students who fail.

Debashis Chatterjee, chairperson of the state syllabus committee, confirmed that the proposal was under examination. “We are exploring the possibilities of reintroducing annual examinations and the pass-fail system. However, the proposal will have to be discussed in detail among experts. Nothing has been finalised so far,” he told EducationWorld.

Chatterjee clarified that the committee’s recently submitted report to the state government focused exclusively on curriculum restructuring. “The report we have submitted to the government makes no mention of detaining students or reintroducing the pass-fail system. It deals only with the school syllabus,” he said.

Tarun Kanti Naskar, former professor at Jadavpur University and general secretary of the Save Education Committee, an organisation of academics, said there were indications that the state government was considering scrapping the no-detention policy from Class V or VI. However, his organisation favoured ending automatic promotion from Class I.

“We have opposed the no-detention policy since its introduction in 2009. The pass-fail system must return from Class I with immediate effect. Both the Centre and the state have issued statements on this issue, but the time has come to implement the change. Academic standards have deteriorated sharply, and children are struggling to acquire even basic reading, writing and arithmetic skills,” Naskar told EducationWorld.

Besides restoring the pass-fail system, Adhikari said his government was considering several other changes to school education. These include a complete ban on mobile phones in schools, greater emphasis on the history of Bengal and India, and the teaching of modern languages.

The government is also considering reintroducing activities such as Bratachari, the National Service Scheme (NSS) and the National Cadet Corps (NCC). Adhikari additionally proposed introducing music lessons at the primary level, with students learning instruments such as the harmonium, tabla, guitar, sitar and mridangam.

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