The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition asking the Central Board of Secondary Education and the Delhi government to waive off examination fees for class 10 and 12 students, in view of the coronavirus crisis, Bar and Bench reported.

The petition was filed by a non-governmental organisation called Social Jurist, against a Delhi High Court order from September, PTI reported. The High Court had left the decision on waiving off fees to the authorities and dismissed the petition.

The Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy and MR Shah also said that the government had the authority to decide on fee waiver. “How can the court direct this,” the bench asked.

Advertisement

Advocate Ashok Aggarwal, who appeared for the petitioners, told the bench that he had filed a representation before the Delhi government. “They rejected [it] and said we can’t give so much money,” Aggarwal told the court, according to Bar and Bench. “CBSE has not responded. 10% of students are in government schools.” He also cited the financial difficulties being faced by parents.

Follow today’s live updates on the coronavirus here.

The lawyer said that the exam fee had been increased. “At least they [CBSE and Delhi government] can revert back to the old fee.” The Supreme Court said it was “not inclined” to hear the petition.

Advertisement

The coronavirus crisis has adversely affected academic activities in India as schools and colleges have been closed since March, when a nationwide lockdown was imposed to combat the spread of the infection.

However, in its guidelines for reopening the country in September, the Centre allowed states to decide whether to reopen schools and colleges from mid-November. Some states such as Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu allowed schools to open, while Delhi kept them closed.

India has reported 88,45,127 coronavirus cases and 1,30,519 deaths so far. The number of active cases in India stand at 4,53,401, while 82,90,370 people have recovered.