On Wednesday, the Karnataka High Court invalidated the notification from the school education department regarding the organization of board exams for classes 5, 8, 9, and 11 under the state board syllabus. Justice Krishna Dixit, presiding over a single judge bench, supported the arguments put forth by registered associations of private unaided schools. These associations contended that holding board examinations for these classes contradicts the Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) model mandated by the Right To Education Act (RTE) of 2009.
The exams were originally slated to begin on March 11. President of the Registered Unaided Private Schools Association, Lokesh Talikatte, emphasized that according to RTE guidelines, continuous and comprehensive evaluation should be carried out at the school level for classes 5, 8, and 9, without resorting to board exams. CCE involves conducting assessments within the school, evaluating students based on their learning capabilities. However, when examinations and evaluations occur at the board and taluk levels, respectively, it disrupts the students’ learning process.
Private management associations further argued that subjecting students in classes 5, 8, and 9 to board exams would instill anxiety and fear, potentially dissuading them from attending school. In the preceding academic year, the Karnataka State Examination and Assessment Board introduced a ‘centralized annual examination’ for classes 5 and 8, while the government extended this to class 9 and first PUC through a September 2023 notification.
As per the notification, students failing these exams would not face detention; instead, only the students and their parents would be informed about the results. In the case of first PUC exams, a supplementary examination would be conducted at the college level for students failing to meet the passing criteria.
Additionally, the state government guidelines stipulate that question papers for class 9 exams will be prepared by the Karnataka School Quality Assessment and Accreditation Council, with evaluation at the taluk level. Meanwhile, for first PUC exams, question papers will be formulated by the pre-university (PU) board, and evaluation will occur at the college level.
