The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a review petition seeking cancellation of CBSE Class 12 Private, Patrachar and Compartment exams. The plea had sought striking down of Clause 29 of the policy decision dated June 17 as notified by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and directions for declaration of results of Private, Compartment and Patrachar students on the basis of objective methodology by July 31.
The review was sought by advocate Mamta Sharma so that "no prejudice" was caused to the students in securing admission for higher classes in India and abroad in the upcoming academic session.
Reacting to the verdict, the petitioner's advocate said that the review petition had raised crucial points for consideration before the top court, however, Supreme Court couldn't find merit in the grounds and dismissed the petition on merit. "The decision is certainly disappointing. Hopefully CBSE streamlines its examination procedure for the upcoming academic sessions to ensure students don't suffer irreparable loss of a year's education," Sharma said.
The CBSE is scheduled to hold exams for private students between August 16, 2021 and September 15, 2021. The board said that the results will also be declared in "the minimum possible time to avoid any difficulty to them in admission in higher education".
Meanwhile, in a conversation with India TV on Thursday, CBSE Exam Controller Sanyam Bhardwaj assured that the exams will be conducted in a safe environment and that the board would take care of all Covid-appropriate measures.
"Honorable Supreme Court had already discussed this issue in detail. Only after each and every petitioner agreed to the proposal, the policy of tabulation was approved by the court. The fact is that for all the categories of private students, we do not have any such database on the basis of which we can prepare results like that of regular candidates. CBSE is a very student friendly board and we would have had prepared their results if we had data pertaining to their year-long assessments. However, students shouldn't feel they are at loss. I feel their future is in safe hands, we will ensure conduct of exams in such a manner that they won't be facing any problems in appearing. All Covid-19 protocols will be taken care of. My best wishes to each and everyone," Bhardwaj said.
For regular students, schools have conducted a unit test, mid-term and pre-board examination and thus the performance of these students was available, the board had said in an official notification recently.
Meanwhile, Abhishek Chaudhary, the Supreme Court advocate who represented CBSE Private, Patrachar and Compartment students in the original writ petition, expressed concern on if such students will be able to secure admissions.
"The obvious conclusion is board exam for CBSE private/patrachar and compartment students will be held, as directed earlier by the Supreme Court in between Aug 15-Sep 15, 2021. CBSE board is yet to declare the schedule. However, after a subsequent development i.e., UGC Regulations, 2021 for the Undergraduate courses in India, the bigger question now is whether these students will be able to take admission for higher education, if exams are conducted as scheduled. The UGC has asked universities in India to conclude admission process by September 30, 2021 and is yet to synchronise its academic calendar so as to accommodate these private students," he said.
READ MORE: Will CBSE cancel exams for private students? This is board's official response
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