The Karnataka High Court on Friday, March 9, cancelled board examinations for Classes 5 and 8 from the current academic year. The Ministry of Education was all set to hold the board exams from the ongoing academic year. The bench headed by Justice Pradeep Singh Yerur opined that as per rules, the board exams for Classes 5 and 8 could be held from the next year.
Registered Unaided Private Schools Association (RUPSA) president Lokesh Talikatte had filed a petition in the Karnataka High Court challenging the public exams for students of Class 5 and 8. He had challenged the new evaluation process from the academic year 2022-23 in an order dated December 12, 2022. The petition was submitted before a single bench seeking a stay on the order. The appeal was filed before the division bench later.
The division bench headed by Chief Justice PB Varale and Justice Ashok S Kinagi has also opined against conducting public exams. The single bench order has been given following the direction of the division bench.
The board exams for Class 5 and 8 had faced stiff resistance in the state. Parents had questioned the necessity of board exams for these classes, when the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) does not hold exams for them. It was alleged that the education department is encouraging the ‘tuition mafia.’ The proposal to hold board exams for lower classes was dropped earlier too when S Suresh Kumar was the Minister for Education due to stiff opposition by the parents.