CBSE decision to hold remaining board exams from July 1 challenged before SC

CBSE decision to hold remaining board exams from July 1 challenged before SC

The petitioners raised concerns regarding safety of the children who, they submitted, would be exposed to COVID-19 if they were to appear for the exam.

By: Murali Krishnan | Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Jun 10, 2020 20:20 IST

Four parents, whose wards are appearing in Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Board exams, moved the Supreme Court on Wednesday seeking to quash the May 18 decision of the CBSE to hold the remaining examinations for Class X and XII from July 1 to July 15.

The petitioners raised concerns regarding safety of the children who, they submitted, would be exposed to COVID-19 if they were to appear for the exam.

“The (CBSE) notification for holding of the remaining examinations 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, is arbitrary”, the petition stated.

The petitioners prayed that the CBSE results should be declared based on the marks procured in examinations already held and internal assessment marks of those papers for which examinations have not been held yet.

CBSE had conducted examinations till March 18 when it decided to put the exams for the remaining papers on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It then came out with a notification on May 18 to hold examinations for remaining 29 subjects from July 1 to July 15.

The petitioner submitted that after the CBSE notification of May 18, the Ministry of Human Resource and Development had on May 25 announced that the exams would be held across 15,000 centres.

Ensuring proper cleanliness and safety standards as prescribed by government to deal with COVID-19 situation in the 15,000 exam centres would be a herculean task, the petitioner told the court.

“(Covid) cases in India are rising dramatically and as on date there are almost 3,00,000 cases of COVID-19 patients. Moreover, even if it is to be assumed that 50 percent of the cases are asymptomatic, then the said students appearing for these exams could also be potential careers themselves posing a great risk to the other family members”, the plea filed through advocate Rishi Malhotra said.

Source : /www.hindustantimes.com