HYDERABAD, March 9: The Andhra Pradesh government is likely to re-introduce the detention system after a gap of almost three decades in government, municipal and zilla parishad high schools from the next academic year to improve educational standards.According to official sources, the decision was taken keeping in view the steep decline in the results of the government schools compared to those run privately.The detention system was in force in the state until 1969. It was abolished during the tenure of former chief minister Kasu Brahmananda Reddy following severe opposition from various students unions as well as teachers.With 50 per cent of the government-run schools producing less than 15 per cent results in the SSC examinations every year, not to mention those with consistently zero per cent results, the decision was inevitable, a senior education department official told The Indian Express.Officials of the education department who studied the causes for the decline in the educationalstandards in high schools are understood to have suggested that the detention system should be reintroduced to stem the rot.Statistics from the department show a constant increase in the number of schools with zero per cent results in the SSC examinations between 1990 and 1996.While 118 ZP schools and 13 government high schools showed zero per cent results in 1990, the number swelled to 130 ZP schools and 22 government schools 1991, 123 ZP and 28 government schools in 1992, 167 ZP schools and 67 government schools in 1993. Though the number has reduced since, there has been no marked improvement in the government-run institutions even as private schools consistently manage a 100 per cent result.According to him, the views of parents, academicians and other eminent personalities were elicited before resolving the re-introduction issue. Significantly, most concurred with the department’s view that the detention system would help improve the educational standards.
