CISCE Board confirms to Bombay HC
The Indian School Certificate Examination has stated to the Bombay High Court that the board will be conducting the class 10 examinations in July 2020. According to the dates released, the class 10 exams are scheduled to be conducted from July 2 to 14, 2020 while the class 12 ICSE exams are scheduled to be conducted from July 1 to 14, 2020. The board has assured that all the necessary precautions will be taken while conducting the exams.
While on the other hand, the Maharashtra state government has said that conducting the examinations at this point in time will not be feasible due to the pandemic.
Representing the state government at the court, Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni said that the COVID-19 situation in the state was serious and it will not be feasible to conduct the examinations for the pending ICSE papers. In an affidavit released, the central board has argued that the state government’s permission is not required in order to conduct the examinations.
Petition filed against conducting the ICSE exams
The petition was filed by Arvind Tiwari challenging the ICSE board’s decision to conduct the Class 10 board exams from July 2 to 12, 2020 across the state. The exams were initially scheduled from February 27 to March 30, 2020, but the exams from March 19, 2020, were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
In the petition filed, it has been claimed that since the number of COVID-19 cases is on the rise in the state it will be appropriate to declare the results of the students based on the grade and assessment of the past performance of the students in the internal exams.
Maharashtra has 226 schools affiliated to the ICSE Board from which 23,347 students were scheduled to appear for the class 10 board examinations.
In the affidavit released by the board it has been stated that the decision to conduct the pending exams were taken after the relaxations were brought in the lockdown although, on June 3, the Maharashtra School Education Department stated that it is not possible for the state government to grant the board the permission to conduct the examination and requested the board to postpone the exams or rely on the internal assessment marks.
Students in containment zones can appear in September 2020
The ICSE board however has stated that the examinations cannot be postponed and safety measures will be taken while conducting the exams. With respect to the students who cannot appear for the board exams as they or their family member is suffering from the virus, or if they reside in a containment zone, these students can appear for the re-examination to be conducted in September 2020.
