The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the Kerala government to conduct physical examination for class 11 amid the COVID-19 pandemic and expressed satisfaction over the steps being taken to ensure that students do not face any untoward situation. did. The top court said a holistic approach should be adopted in the matter and the authorities concerned are conscious of their duties.
A bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and CT Ravikumar dismissed an appeal filed by advocate Rasoolshan A challenging the Kerala High Court order refusing to interfere with the state government’s decision to conduct offline exams. was given. The top court said that a detailed affidavit has been filed by the state and it is taking all measures related to the coronavirus protocol.
“We are convinced by the clarification given by the state and the trust authorities will take all precautions and necessary steps so that those students who are appearing in the proposed examination do not face any untoward situation. dismissed,” it said. The apex court said that it had intervened on an earlier occasion as there was a possibility of a third wave of corona by September.
Advocate Prashant Padmanabhan, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that the state government’s affidavit did not mention satisfactory reasons and the questions raised by the apex court.
Padmanabhan said the apex court had asked the state’s counsel whether the decision was taken keeping in view the rise in COVID cases in Kerala, but did not respond to the affidavit or consulted experts on the issue. Went. However, the bench said that the Kerala government has given a concrete explanation.
The Kerala government, in an affidavit to the top court, had told the apex court that online examination would be detrimental to students who do not have access to laptops and mobile phones. Conducting exams through online mode will affect a large number of students who do not have access to laptops, desktops or mobile phones, it said, adding that students from the lower strata of society use mobile phones or tablets to attend online classes. are dependent on.
“In many areas, internet connection or mobile data is not available. These students will never be able to write online exams.” COVID is saying “there is a dangerous situation in the state”.
The top court had observed that “cases in Kerala account for about 70 per cent of the country’s and children of this age cannot be exposed to this risk.” Rasoolshan, in his petition, had argued that forcing minor illiterate students of Class XI to appear in a public examination amid a possible third wave of corona pandemic in Kerala is “unjust, unfair and unjustified”.
The Kerala High Court had on August 27 said that conducting the examination is a matter of government’s policy and does not require interference. “I find it difficult to appreciate the contention of the petitioners that the decision to conduct the examination was taken by the respondents without much deliberation and without concern for the health of the students.” Single Judge said.
The apex court’s division bench passed this order on an appeal filed by advocate Rasoolshan A, challenging a high court’s decision refusing to interfere with the decision to conduct the offline examination. The resolution submitted in its appeal before the Apex Court that the State of Kerala, despite the cancellation of CBSE/ICSE and all the States (except Kerala where Class XII examinations were conducted earlier) had not allowed offline admission of Class XI students in the State Board. It has been decided to conduct the examination. Physical test for class XII.
“The decision to conduct the offline examination, during which was earlier scheduled from September 6-10, has now been changed to September 6-27, oblivious to the severe pandemic situation prevailing in the country, with Kerala being the worst affected . The Test Positivity Rate (TPR) of COVID-19 in Kerala is above 15 per cent which is very high.”
The appeal states that the students of class XI of the Kerala State Board appearing in the model examination in online mode in any case and having another examination in offline mode will serve no purpose. It added that the marks obtained by the students may be taken into account, if it is required for any purpose.
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