SC to hear Monday plea to scrap Class 12 board exam in coronavirus pandemic

The CBSE on April 14, had announced the cancellation of class 10 exams and the postponement of class 12 examinations.

The Supreme Court on Monday will hear a plea seeking its direction to cancel class 12 board exams, responding to a petition that says students would be exposed to Covid-19.

The exams were scheduled for March and were deferred due to a surge in coronavirus cases. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), on April 14, cancelled class 10 exams and deferred for class 12.

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Mamata Sharma came up for hearing before a apex court bench comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari. The court has asked the petitioner to serve the advance copy of the petition to the CBSE and School Certificate Examinations (CISCE). The plea has also sought an alternative ‘objective methodology’ to arrive at Class 12 results.

The plea raised concerns over the safety of lakhs of students who could be exposed to the Covid infection if they appear for the examination amid the surge in coronavirus cases across the country.

The apex court while responding to the petitioner’s request that the court can take suo motu cognisance on the issue, the bench said, “Be optimistic. Maybe by Monday some resolution will be there. Let us have it on Monday,” reported news agency PTI.

The CBSE has proposed two options for the exams during the pandemic. One option is to conduct the exam between July 15 and August 26 and declare results in September.

The other option is to conduct regular exams for 19 major subjects at notified centres or conducting shorter duration exams at schools where students are enrolled.

The Education Ministry had asked the states and union territories to submit detailed suggestions on the proposals discussed in a high-level meeting held on the matter by May 25.