Key School Education Reforms and Changes

The education reforms by the UPA government included the introduction of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) and a ‘no detention’ policy up to Class 8 as part of the Right to Education. These reforms aimed to reduce the pressure of final exams and uphold standards by assessing students continuously throughout the academic year.

Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE)

• was to be implemented from Class 6.
• Involved discrete assessments throughout the year instead of a single final exam.
• Aimed to focus on both academic achievement and personal development.

No Detention Policy

• Sought to create a more supportive and less stressful environment for students.
• Ensured students were promoted without being detained up to Class 8.

Challenges and Changes Post-Reforms

Despite these reforms, many students continued to lack foundational numeracy and literacy skills by the end of primary school. The NDA government, recognizing this gap, decided to eliminate the no detention policy in 2019, granting discretion to State governments on whether to retain it.

Recent Notifications by the Ministry of Education

• Final exams mandated for Class 5 and Class 8 to assess student competence.
• Students failing the exam will receive additional instruction and a re-examination opportunity after two months.
• If failed again, students will be detained, though no expulsion is allowed before completing elementary education.

Implications and Concerns

• Practical changes are necessary to improve learning outcomes, as an educated and skilled population is crucial for leveraging the demographic dividend.
• The policy shift reintroduces the single final exam as the primary determinant of student progression, contrary to the NEP 2020 vision of holistic and formative assessments.
• Potentially challenging for some States politically, while private schools might misuse it to expel underperforming students, necessitating safeguards.

The new detention policy does not align with the National Education Policy 2020's aspiration to encourage a comprehensive assessment approach, indicating a regression to traditional examination formats.

Parliamentary Concerns on Drug Quality and Conviction Rates

The parliamentary standing committee on chemicals and fertilizers has raised alarms over the low conviction rates related to the manufacture, sale, and distribution of spurious or adulterated drugs in India.

Key Findings and Statistics

• Between 2015-16 and 2018-19, out of 230,000 drug samples examined: 
  • 593 were declared spurious.
  • 9,266 were found to be of substandard quality.
• Conviction Rate: 
  • Only 35 convictions were made, amounting to a 5.9% conviction rate.
  • The remaining cases are still in various judicial stages.
• The conviction data for spurious drugs is not centrally maintained, posing challenges for penal action.

Recommendations by the Committee

The committee emphasized the need for stringent actions and exemplary punishments for those involved in drug adulteration.

National Survey of Drugs (2014-16) Findings

• 10% of samples from government sources were substandard compared to 3% from private sources.
• This indicates a 3.17 times higher prevalence of substandard drugs in government channels.

Concerns on Government Drug Sources

• The committee criticized the department's failure to address the core reasons for higher NSQ drug prevalence from government sources.
• Issues related to procurement processes were highlighted as potential loopholes.

Health Ministry's Recent Update

• In November, central drugs laboratories identified 41 samples as NSQ.
• State drug testing laboratories found 70 samples not meeting quality standards.