Ajay Sujay Hanje, Pune
The High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday, March 6, revoked the decision of the school education department, where they conducted board exams for classes from 5, 8, 9, and 11 for their state board syllabus. The bench in the high court was composed of one single judge, Justice Krishna Dixit. The argument that was registered by the associations of private unaided schools was that the board exams that are being conducted for the students violate the CCE (Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation) model, which is the Act of 2009 on Right to Education (RTE).
The exams were planned to take place on March 11. The president of the Registered Unaided Private Schools Association, Lokesh Talikatte, said, “RTE requires that assessments for classes 5, 8, and 9 be thorough and ongoing at the school level; they cannot be board exams. CCE refers to administering tests to students at the school level, evaluating them there, and rating them according to their aptitude for learning. Nevertheless, the child’s learning curve is hampered when the exam and evaluation are administered at the board and taluk levels, respectively.”
Additionally, the private management associations contended that giving board exams to kids in classes 5, 8, and 9 will make them fearful and anxious, which will deter them from attending class. Last year, the Karnataka State Examination and Assessment Board held a “centralised annual examination” for classes 5 and 8. In September 2023, the government notified classes 9 and the first PUC to follow suit.
The notification states that no kid will be held back if they don’t pass. In this case, the only people the school is required to notify about the outcome are the kid and the student’s parents. However, in the event that a student does not receive a passing grade on the first PUC exam, the board will administer a make-up exam at the college level.
Furthermore, the Karnataka School Quality Assessment and Accreditation Council will prepare the class 9 test question papers in accordance with the state government’s rules, and the evaluation will take place at the taluk level. In the meantime, the pre-university (PU) board will design the exam question for the first PUC exam, and the evaluation will happen at the college level.