New Delhi: Supreme Court has put a temporary halt to the Karnataka High Court’s decision allowing board exams for classes 5, 8, 9, and 11 of government, aided, and unaided schools following the state curriculum.
A bench comprising Justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal took the decision to stay the declaration of examination results for these classes, which were conducted last month on the directions of the Karnataka High Court.
The order further states that schools should refrain from publishing the results until the next directive from the Supreme Court. The High Court’s prior permission for the board examination in March prompted schools to conduct the exams. However, the Supreme Court has now intervened, instructing a hold on result announcements.
The Supreme Court’s move has sparked concerns over the future of students, parents, teachers, and school management, as it disrupts the ongoing academic process aligned with the state curriculum. Moreover, the order appears to challenge the Right to Education (RTE) Act.
The legal saga stems from the state government’s decision in the academic year 2023-24 to mandate board examinations for 5th, 8th, 9th, and 11th-grade students through the Karnataka School Examination and Evaluation Board. This decision faced opposition from the association of unaided schools, leading to litigation in the High Court.
In response, the High Court initially canceled the board examination, but the state government appealed the decision. The High Court subsequently granted the appeal, allowing the examinations to proceed, until the recent intervention by the Supreme Court.
