Several students have approached the Supreme Court against the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and ICSE to conduct the 10th and 12th Term-1 examinations only through offline mode (sitting in the classroom).
The students have demanded to conduct the examination through online medium as an alternative arrangement, citing the possibility of increasing the corona epidemic. The students have said in the petition that the examination should be conducted in hybrid mode (both online and offline). The petition has urged the Supreme Court to direct CBSE and CISCE to issue a revised circular for conducting Term-1 examinations in hybrid mode amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The petition, filed by six students appearing for the board examinations, has alleged that the entire exercise of the board in conducting the term one or semester one examination only in offline mode is highly unfair.
CBSE is going to conduct examinations from November 16 and ICSE from November 22. The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) board exams semester one will begin from November 22.
The petition, filed by advocate Sumant Nookla, said that the upcoming examinations should be conducted in hybrid mode with an option to choose between offline and online examination.
“The consent is important as the examination is directly related to the mental health of the petitioners, which requires a conducive and voluntary environment to ensure fair evaluation,” the application said. It is common knowledge that a third wave of the COVID pandemic has been predicted.
It claimed that the proposed current system of offline examination is “full of poor planning” which will adversely affect the students.
It said, “Even if the Respondents (Board and others) wanted to hold the examination on the said dates, they would have had sufficient time and resources to plan carefully and consider the concerns raised in the present petition.” ‘
