Kriti Agrawal –
Supreme Court gave the government two weeks to come out with a set of objective criteria for evaluating Class 12 students from the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Council for Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (CISCE).
The Court’s decision came in response to the Centre’s claim that tests were cancelled.
The two-Judge bench of Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice Dinesh Maheshwari further stated that the centre’s decision would be presented to the Court in two weeks.
The bench expressed its delight at the government’s decision to cancel the Class 12 board exams in the children’s best interests.
However, the petition will not be dismissed unless the centre publishes the assessment methodology, according to the statement.
The Judges stated, “We’re glad to hear you made a principled decision to postpone the tests.”
The Attorney General, KK Venugopal, requested a four-week period, but the court said that the judgment on assessing the students be made in two weeks.
The CISCE’s counsel also requested a four-week extension, but the court refused by saying “Students are worried about getting into higher education programs not only in the United States but also worldwide. Make it clear to your clients that this is a subject that requires immediate attention.”
The Supreme Court was hearing a case filed by counsel Mamta Sharma, who asked the Court to order the CBSE, CISCE, and the federal government to develop an ‘objective methodology’ for evaluating Class 12 pupils within a set timeframe.
Sharma filed the petition on behalf of nearly 7,000 parents as a group. She asked the Court for a unified order cancelling tests scheduled to be taken by state boards, which serve 1.2 million pupils.Justice Khanwilkar and Justice Maheshwari said, “Patience is required. Allow for the completion of this procedure. After that, we’ll look at some other issues.”
