The Supreme Court on Thursday directed CBSE and ICSE Boards to place the objective criteria to assess Class 12 students in two weeks’ time. This comes after the Union government had announced the cancellation of the Class 12 Board exams for CBSE and ICSE students.
The petitioner on Thursday sought the apex court to set July 15 as the deadline for publication of Class 12 results, so as not to jeopardise student admissions. On June 1, CBSE and ICSE Boards announced the cancellation of the Class 12 Board exams following a review meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The exams were cancelled in view of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. At the time, it was decided that CBSE would take steps to compile the results of Class 12 students in a “well-defined objective criteria in a time-bound manner.” CISCE Secretary Gerry Arathoon had also said that an ‘alternative criteria’ to assess students would be announced soon, without specifying any dates.
The vacation bench comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari said that there was apprehension among students regarding admissions to higher courses and courses outside, reported Livelaw. While Advocate General of India KK Venugopal appearing for the CSE said that it needed two weeks' time to decide on the objective criteria, the counsel for CISCE said it needed four weeks' time for the same. However, the court told the counsel appearing for CISCE, “Please impress upon your client, this is an urgent decision which is to be taken. Have a virtual meeting daily. If you want you can do it overnight also. Do it in 2 weeks. AG has asked for reasonable time. Don’t bargain for a time frame, you should do it overnight.”
The petitioner, advocate Mamta Sharma, also told the court on Thursday that a decision has not been taken regarding state board examinations and asked for uniformity. The court then said that the interest of students will be taken into account whether it's CBSE, ICSE or other Boards.