The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday quashed a recent notification by the state government to conduct exams for students V, VIII, IX and XI.

The single judge bench of the court headed by Justice Krishna Dixit upheld arguments of the Registered Unaided Private Schools Association (RUPSA) who argued that conducting board examinations for violates the continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE) model promoted in the Right To Education Act (RTE) 2009 and could push many students to drop out.

The exams which were otherwise slated to commence on March 11 have been cancelled this academic year and school level exams would resume.

“RTE mandates that continuous and comprehensive evaluation must be conducted at school level for classes V, VIII and XI and has stated explicitly that it must not be a board exam. CCE itself calls for conducting examinations at the school level, evaluating them at the school level and assessing the students based on their learning abilities. When the question paper is set and evaluations of answer scripts happen at taluk level, it hampers the child’s growth,” said Lokesh Talikatte, president of the RUPSA, welcoming the court’s decision.

RUPSA had previously expressed that should the government conduct these exams, rising anxiety would hamper the learning outcomes of students. Among those going to budget and government or government aided schools, the association had expressed fear of students remaining out of schools fearing these exams.

It can also be recalled that in the last academic year (2022-23) the school education department introduced annual examinations for classes 5 and 8. However, it had elicited mixed responses from private school management associations.

The Associated Management of Private Schools in Karnataka (KAMS) said that conducting these exams would, however, have helped understand the learning levels of each student and would serve as a benchmark against which remedial education or retention can be considered.

“We have been placing only one request before the state. Government must conduct exams for classes V and VIII to assess learning levels of students. As per provisions of 2019 RTE amendments, children who fail must be given a second chance. In case they do not clear exams yet again, provisions for detention must be made,” reiterated D Shashi Kumar, general secretary, KAMS. 

Source: PTI

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