Parents move Supreme Court against CBSE holding board exams in July

June 11: Amidst the surging numbers of COVID-19 cases in the country, the Ministry of Human Resource and Development on 25 May had announced about conducting of exams for classes 10 and 12 students in almost 15,000 exam centres. It is in this backdrop that a group of parents has approached the Supreme Court against the Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) decision to conduct the pending board exams. The parents has sought a direction to the CBSE to declare the results on the basis of exam already conducted and to calculate it on an average basis with internal assessment marks of the remaining subjects.

At a time when India is nearing the 3,00,000 mark of total reported cases, it would be a huge risk to hold Board exams even though the number of exam centres stands increased and the authorities have assured that proper safety will be maintained, the plea states. They have reasoned that students would be at a greater risk of contracting the virus if they come out to give the examinations.

“It is highly regretful that the respondents (CBSE and Ministry of Human Resource Development) herein have no genuine concern about putting the lives at peril of all the students pan India and have no explanation whatsoever in insisting upon holding the said examination in India,” the plea claimed. The petition also argues that many professional institutes have cancelled their exams set to be held this year in light of the pandemic. The plea has also raised concern over the issue where an examination centre might fall within the COVID-19 containment zone.

The petitioner therefore stated that, “CBSE’s notification for holding the remaining examination is discriminatory and arbitrary and that too in the month of July wherein as per the AIIMS data, the said COVID-19 pandemic would be at its peak. As done by CBSE in its other 250 schools abroad and various state boards, the examinations scheduled to be conducted in July, should be canceled and the marks could be allotted in the basis of internal assessment.”