The Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE) on Friday submitted a fresh notification in the Supreme Court on the Class 10 and Class 12 board examinations. While Class 10 examinations that were scheduled to be held between July 1 and 15 have been cancelled, Class 12 board exams have been made optional.
The Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), meanwhile, expressed willingness to conduct optional exams for both Class 10 and 12. The ICSE board submitted that the assessment scheme would be slightly different from CBSE and will be notified on the website within one week.
The Supreme Court bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjiv Khanna permitted the Centre and the CBSE to cancel the remaining board examinations due to COVID-19 pandemic and gave a go-ahead to its scheme to award marks to students for the cancelled papers scheduled to be held in July. It also gave the ICSE a go-ahead to issue a notification on the board exams
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the CBSE, said that the assessment scheme will consider marks achieved by students in the last three papers of board exams.
Both CBSE and ICSE told the top court that the results of the Class 10 and 12 board exams can be declared by mid July.
In its notification submitted to the Supreme Court, the CBSE said that Class 10 exams have been cancelled, but for Class 12, CBSE will conduct an optional examination in the subjects whose examinations were scheduled to be conducted from July 1 to July 15, 2020 as soon as conditions are conducive, as assessed and decided by the Central Government.
Meanwhile, the assessment of the performance of students in the cancelled examinations will be done based on the assessment scheme.
For the students of both Classes 10 and 12, who have completed all their examinations, their results will be declared based on their performance in the examinations. For students who have appeared in the examinations in more than three subjects, the average of the marks obtained in the best three performing subjects will be awarded in the subjects whose examinations have not been conducted. For students who have appeared in the examinations in only three subjects, the average of the marks obtained in the best two performing subjects will be awarded in the subjects whose examinations have not been conducted.
The CBSE added that there are very few students of Class 12, mainly from Delhi, who have appeared in the examinations in only one or two subjects. Their results will be declared based on performance in the appeared subjects and performance in internal or practical or project assessment.
These students will also be allowed to appear in the optional examinations conducted by CBSE to improve their performance, if they desire to do so. The result of these students will also be declared along with other students.
Candidates whose results will be declared based on the assessment scheme will be allowed to appear in these optional examinations to improve their performance, they wish so. However, the marks obtained by a candidate in these optional examinations will be treated as final for those who have opted to take these examinations.
The top court was hearing pleas seeking relief, including scrapping of remaining exams of Class 12 scheduled from July 1-15, in view of the increasing number of COVID-19 cases. Similar relief was sought by the ICSE Board also.
With PTI inputs