The CBSE told the Supreme Court today that discussion on scrapping the remaining Class 12 examinations is at an advanced stage and a decision will be taken by Thursday. The top court was hearing a plea by a group of parents who sought quashing of the CBSE notification for conducting the remaining Class 10 and 12 exams from July 1 to 15.
“The decision making process is at an advance stage and would finalised by Thursday,” the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for the Centre and the CBSE said today.
Mr Mehta informed a bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar that the government and the board are aware of the anxiety of students, and authorities will take a decision on the issue soon.
CBSE will announce a decision on the remaining Board exams by Thursday Mr Mehta requested the bench, also comprising Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjiv Khanna, to adjourn the matter for a day and said he would apprise the apex court about the decision taken by the authorities.
The bench, after hearing Mr Mehta's submissions, adjourned the matter for June 25.
The parents have cited that the CBSE has cancelled the examinations of Class 10 and 12 for its around 250 schools situated abroad and the board has decided to award marks on the basis of either practical exams or an internal assessment because of the pandemic.
However, some reports suggested that the CBSE will announce a decision on exams on Wednesday. News agency Press Trust of India reported that the Centre and the CBSE informed the Supreme Court Tuesday that an expert body is in the process of taking the final decision "very shortly", hopefully by Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the CICSE board has already announced that class 10 and 12 students can choose to not appear for pending board exams and be marked as per their performance in pre-board exams or internal assessment. The board had submitted the proposal before the Bombay High Court last week in response to a petition filed by a parent seeking directions to the authorities to cancel exams in view of the spike in COVID-19 cases.
On entrance exams like JEE Main and NEET, education ministry sources have told NDTV that it is difficult to cancel these exams as they are crucial for admission to engineering and medical courses. So, these exams will be postponed to another date. JEE Main and NEET are scheduled for July 18-23 and July 26, respectively.
Universities and schools across the country have been shut since March 16, when the Centre announced a countrywide classroom shutdown as part of measures to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. A nationwide lockdown was announced on March 24, which came into effect the next day.
While the government has eased several restrictions, schools and colleges continue to remain closed.
