1,152 Compartment/Private Students Move Supreme Court Against CBSE Offline Exam; Seeks Cancellation of CBSE Class XII Exam.
(Judicial Quest News Network)
A plea has been filed before the Supreme Court by many students against CBSE decision to hold off line examination for them amid the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic.
1,152 students of class X and Class XII
have prayed for a direction to the CBSE Board to arrive at a formula for
performance evaluation of the class XII private. Compartment/repeaters students
in line with the assessment formula adopted by CBSE and other Education Boards
for the regular students and to release the results in a time bound manner.
The petition filed through Advocate Manju Jetley and Advocate Abhishek Choudhry
also seeks a direction to CBSE Board to arrive at a formula for performance
evaluation of the Class X private/ compartment /repeaters students in an expedite
manner and to release the results in a time bound manner.
It is contended in the plea that by forcing private/partaker/2nd chance Compartment candidates to appeal for online examinations, the CBSE is putting their lives at risk, it was contended.
The plea was filed as an intervention application in a petition already pending before the Supreme Court seeking scrapping of class 12 examinations for CBSE.
That the applicants being a public-spirited individual who is concerned about the large number of private and compartmental students of CBSE and are due to appear in the Class XIIth private/2nd Compartmental Examinations.
The petitioners have submitted that It is submitted that keeping in view the safety, health and wellbeing of all the private / compartment / repeaters candidates of Class XII CBSE Board examination 2021, their parents and family members, teaching faculty and all stakeholders, the notification issued by CBSE calling off the Class XII Board Examinations, owing to the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic situation in the country, should be given widest interpretation so as to include all categories of students.
ON 03-06-2021 Supreme Court had directed the CBSE to devise and place on record a
well-defined objective criterion for assessment of performance of the candidate within two weeks form the date of the order.
That pursuant to the aforesaid order / direction dated 03.06.2021, the CBSE placed on record ‘objective criteria for assessment of performance of the candidates’ on 17.06.2021 before this Hon’ble Court, titled “Policy for Tabulation of Marks for Class XII Board Examinations 2021” (hereinafter the ‘Class XII Policy’)[Notification no. CBSE/CE/2021 dated 17.06.2021].
It is further submitted that CBSE has attempted to give unequal treatment to Private / Patrachar / 2nd chance Compartment candidates of Class X and XII, thereby creating a classification which has no reasonableness, rational and hence, is prima facie, unfair, unjust, arbitrary, and unreasonable and violative of the principles of equality enshrined under Article 14 of the Constitution of India.
That owing to the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic situation in the country it is not advisable to conduct physical mode examination for the Class XII Private / Patrachar / 2nd chance Compartment candidates, as it would endanger their life and would expose them to an environment that may not be safe Further it is submitted that It is submitted that this would not only be unfair and unreasonable but would also be violative of the Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, as no medical expert, professional scientist, body or agency can say conclusively about any date, probable or otherwise, which may be considered as conducive for conducting the examinations for Class XII Private / Patrachar / 2nd chance Compartment candidates.
Pertinently, the plea also pointed out that however, owing to prevailing Covid-19 situation in the country, it cannot be conclusively said, as to when exactly we will be able to have such conducive environment necessary for the conduct of physical mode examinations. Most importantly, when the dates for various entrance tests, like CLAT, NEET etc., have already been notified, keeping the date of aforesaid board examinations in abeyance, would take away the equal rights of the Class XII Private / Patrachar / 2nd chance Compartment candidatesof the CBSE, to compete with other students, equally, at such national level entrance tests.
It is submitted that, when many students of Class XII Private / Patrachar / 2nd chance Compartment, including applicants herein, approached CBSE through e-mail, seeking information on conduct of their examinations, taking a contradictory stand, against what has been proposed in Cl. 29 of the Class XII policy, the CBSE informed them that “all exams for Class X and XII are cancelled for this year”. In another instance, CBSE responded by saying, “please note that conditions and circumstances in February 2021, are totally different from the time when pandemic caused the board to cancel the examinations.
The Supreme Court is Slated to hear the Matter on Monday.
The petitioners also seek a direction to CBSE to allow Class X & XII private/compartment/repeaters’ students to file their objections within a reasonable period of time, in case they are not satisfied with the results so published in terms of prayer no, B of this application
