Plea in SC seeks hybrid option in ensuing board examinations

A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking directions to the CBSE and the CISCE to issue a revised circular for conducting the ensuing class 10 and 12 board examinations in hybrid mode instead of offline mode only amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The plea, filed by six students who would be appearing in the board examinations, alleged that the entire exercise of the boards in conducting the term one or semester one examinations in offline mode only is “patently unreasonable”.

As per the date sheet announced by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), the term one board exams would commence from November 16.

Semester one of the board examination of the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) would commence from November 22.

The plea, filed by advocate Sumanth Nookala, said the ensuing exams be conducted in hybrid mode with an option to choose between offline and online examination.

“Consent assumes significance as exams directly relate to the mental health of the petitioners requiring a conducive and voluntary atmosphere to ensure a fair assessment. It is common knowledge that the third wave of COVID pandemic is predicted,” the plea said.

It claimed that the proposed current system of offline examination is “fraught with bad planning and lack of application of mind” which will further adversely prejudice the students.

“Even if the respondents (boards and others) wanted to conduct the examinations on the said dates, it had sufficient time and resources to plan it carefully and consider the concerns raised in the present petition,” it said.