Parents, students flag concerns over Class XII evaluation plan

Satya Prakash
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, June 21

As some students and parents’ bodies questioned the decision to cancel the Class XII examinations and the evaluation formulae to declare results of students, the Supreme Court on Monday asked the CBSE and the ICSE to respond to their pleas, saying it’s important to have finality in the matter.

Board results: What petitioners contend

• Marking should be based on the performance of the current batch, not any earlier batch
• The option to improvise the results must be given at the outset before declaration of results
• Policy of linking performance of present batch of students with ex-students can’t be legally sustained

“For students… they need to have some ray of hope, not uncertainty,” said a Bench led by Justice AM Khanwilkar, which had on June 17 given in principle approval to evaluation formulae of the two boards for declaration of results by July 31. However, it said, “The decision for cancellation of examination has been taken at the highest level and we have in-principle accepted it.”

Asking the CBSE and the ICSE to file their replies to the petitions, the top court posted the matter for hearing on Tuesday at 2 pm after Attorney General KK Venugopal agreed to it.

On behalf of UP Parents’ Association that demanded physical examinations for Class XII, senior advocate Vikas Singh assailed the different sets of criteria adopted for evaluation of students by the CBSE and the ICSE, saying there should be uniformity in the criteria of both boards.

Marking should be based on the performance of the current batch and not on any previous batch and the option to improvise the results must be given at the outset before the declaration of results, Singh said even as he reiterated his demand for physical examinations in view of improvement in Covid situation.

“Such irrational policy of linking the performance of the present batch of students with that of former students can’t be legally sustained under any circumstances. The present batch of students can’t be penalised for the past performances of ex-students,” he contended.

“How is the board exam a threat but not IIT-JEE or CLAT?” asked some of the petitioners. Advocate Abhishek Choudhary pointed out that even if a compartment student performed well in CLAT, he couldn’t get admission as his/her board examination was to be held later in physical form.