SC puts board exams on hold; KSEAB cancels tests of Class 5, 8, and 9

The Supreme Court, on March 12, intervened in the Karnataka Government’s decision to conduct board exams for Classes 5, 8, 9, and 11 in schools affiliated with the State Board.

According to a report by Live Law, a division bench of the Supreme Court Justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal set aside  Karnataka High Court’s March 7 order, which had stayed judgment by a single judge bench of the High Court quashing the state’s move to hold these exams.

The Karnataka Government had faced challenges against its decision to hold board exams for Classes 5, 8, 9, and 11, with private school organizations and parents filing special leave petitions in the Supreme Court.

The High Court’s interim order to continue the exams was revoked by the Supreme Court, which directed the High Court’s division bench to decide on the matter.

During the hearing, the Supreme Court orally instructed the State to halt the board exams until the division bench of the High Court made a decision. The Court expressed dissatisfaction with the State’s argument that these exams were meant to prepare students for future board exams, citing the Right to Education Act’s provision that no child should be required to pass any board examination till completion of elementary education, the report added.

Government postpones exams:

In response to the Supreme Court’s directive, the Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board 9KSEAB) released a press release advising schools to postpone the evaluation of Summative Assessment-2 (SA-2) for classes 5, 8, and 9 until further orders.