The Supreme Court has asked the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to come up with a final decision about conducting class 10 and 12 exams by June 23 while hearing a plea by parents. The bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar was hearing a petition filed by parents to quash CBSE notification released on May 18 notifying schedule for pending exams and declare results on the basis of exams which have already been conducted or on the basis of internal assessments. The petition expressed the concern of safety for 31 lakh students who will be attending exams amid the coronavirus pandemic situation.

The parents’ petition said, “The said petition would also demonstrate the extent of discriminatory and arbitrariness conduct of the respondent/CBSE in issuing the notification for holding of the remaining examination 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.” Parents have also launched online campaigns “studentlivesmatter”, “livesoverexams” and “cancelboardexams” regarding the same. They argued if CBSE could cancel the pending exams for its 250 schools abroad and adopt the measure to award marks on the basis of practical exams or internal assessments, why can’t the same be replicated here in India.

CBSE had postponed the board exams scheduled between March 19 and March 31 due to the national lockdown. The board later announced the schedule for the pending exams for class 10 and 12.

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