The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Central Board of Secondary Education to take a decision by June 23 and give clear instructions on conducting the remaining board examinations, LiveLaw reported.
The top court was hearing a petition filed to quash a notification of the CBSE to conduct the rest of the examinations of Class 12 between July 1 and July 15 amid the increase in the number of coronavirus cases. The petition, filed by parents of some students, sought a direction to the CBSE to declare results on the basis of exams which have already been conducted by the board and on internal assessment marks.
A three-judge bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjiv Khanna directed CBSE to hold consultation and examine whether remaining exams can be scrapped and if marks can be allotted on the basis of internal assessment.
The petition raised concern about the safety of lakhs of students, saying they may be exposed to the infection if they appear for the exams. “The said petition would also demonstrate the extent of discriminatory and arbitrariness conduct of the respondent/CBSE in issuing the notification for holding of the remaining examination and that too in the month of July, 2020 wherein as per the AIIMS data, the said COVID-19 pandemic would be at its peak,” it added.
The petition said that considering the gravity of the coronavirus pandemic, the CBSE has cancelled the examinations in 25 other foreign countries and the same standards should be applied to India. “The University of Delhi has cancelled their first year and second year undergraduate examination by stating that the same is not feasible during Covid-19 times,” it said. “Similarly, even the premier institutes like IIT across the country have also cancelled all its exams including those of final year students because of the said situation.”
The parents argued that there was no guarantee on whether the situation in India will improve by July, adding that constantly postponing exams and delay in declaring results will “inflict irreparable loss to the students” who have secured admissions in universities outside the country. Additionally, practical difficulties on movement of students in containment zones and unavailability of private vehicles have not been taken into account, the petition said.
In April, the board had announced that it will only conduct pending exams in 29 subjects which are crucial for promotion and admission to higher educational institutions. All schools and colleges have been shut since March 16, eight days before the Centre announced a countrywide lockdown.
The country has so far recorded 3,54,065 cases and the toll rose to 11,903 on Wednesday morning, according to the data from the health ministry.
Also read: Completing school board exams in July will put students at great risk of infection. Why do it?
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