The Karnataka High Court has allowed the state government to conduct board exams for students of classes 5 and 8 in the state board syllabus. A division bench of Justices G Narendar and Ashok S Kinagi heard the matter on Wednesday, March 15, and permitted the Karnataka government to hold the exams two weeks from the date of the order. The bench also said that the questions must be framed from within the prescribed syllabus. Further, the results will be communicated directly to the school, rather than being put out in the public domain.
However, the Registered Unaided Private Schools Management Association (RUPSA), which is the petitioner in the case, has called the High Court's decision a "win for the prestige of the government, but a loss for the students' interests". In a statement, RUPSA said that the order is a violation of sections of the Right To Education (RTE) Act that provide for a child-friendly and trauma-free education. "The court's notice that there is no restriction under the Right to Education Act to conduct the 5th and 8th class board examination has shocked us," RUPSA's statement said. It added, "In this unnecessary struggle regarding the education of students, the reputation of the government has won and the interest of the children has been defeated. RUPSA Karnataka condemns such unscientific and anti-RTE Act stances of the Education Ministers and Education Department."
Private school management associations had previously moved the High Court against the government order mandating board exams for classes 5 and 8. The petitioners had contended that the conduct of board exams, rather than school-level assessments, would create pressure on students. They also alleged that no stakeholders were consulted before the government issued the order. A single-judge bench of the High Court had, on March 10, struck down the order based on the arguments.
However, the state government challenged this, saying that there is only a minor change in the assessment process. The government said that 80% of the 100 marks is based on continuous internal assessments made by the schools, according to LiveLaw. The remaining 20% is evaluated based on question papers prepared at the state level and evaluated at the taluk and block levels, the report added.
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. 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.