Students from Classes X to XII have moved the Supreme Court in a petition against the circulars issued by the CBSE and CISCE boards that declared that Term I and Semester I exams due in December will be conducted in offline mode only.
The petition, which was filed through Advocate Sumanth Nookala on behalf of six students of Classes X and XII, asked that the CBSE, ICSE and ISC exams be conducted in the hybrid mode so as not to reduce the risk of exposure to the COVID-19 infection for the students.
Claiming that consent for offline-only exams was taken from the students 'without choice' and by coercion, the petitioners stated that the decision of the boards was arbitrary and in violation of the Right to Health, reported LiveLaw.
The students also claim that with the minor papers scheduled to be conducted right before the major exams, the students will be engaged in prolonged exposure, increasing their chances of being infected. In fact, they have expressed fears that these exams could be a super-spreader event.
The petitioners have sought urgent directions from the Supreme Court in the matter, to quash the circulars issued by the boards, and advise the exams to be conducted in a blended online and offline mode. This, the students suggest, will provide for better safety and social distancing measures.
The CBSE Term I exams for Class X are set to be held from November 30 to December 10, and for Class XII from December 1 to December 22, according to the Date Sheet released by the board. The ICSE board exams for Semester I of the Class X students are scheduled from November 29 to December 16, and ISC boards for Class XII were slated to be conducted between November 22 to December 20. These decisions were taken towards the end of October, along with the release of Date Sheets for the exams. The term I CBSE exams are to be in the Multiple Choice format.
