TED News Desk, New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India on Monday decreed that the compartment examinations for Class 12th will be held between 22nd and 29th September, 2020. This decision would mean that the admissions for various bachelor and diploma courses would be over by the time students have appeared for these exams. This will result in about five lakh students not being eligible for college admissions this year.
Two members of the bench that passed the judgement, Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dinesh Maheshwari said, “The board can ask colleges to give provisional admissions or wait for the results to be declared”. However, a senior advocate opposed the statement, saying that the results will be provided by some ‘hybrid system of evaluation’ as CBSE could not hold main exams due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Court stated that the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)’s decision of conducting compartment exams during these times was a potential safety issue, and instructed it to hold it until the due date. This also implies that the appearing students would not be able to apply for college admissions, as it requires 12th passing or provisional certificates.
Meanwhile, CBSE has disagreed upon this, stating to the court that “All necessary measures and safeguards are being undertaken for the students, in view of COVID-19 epidemic”. Unlike earlier, where a single room could accommodate 40 students, only 12 students will now sit in a single room. In addition to that, all safety precautions will also be taken care of. Also, the number of examination centres has increased by 575 to 1,278, more than twice the previous numbers.
However, the Supreme Court hasn’t given a final verdict, having asked the education board to provide an affidavit in the response to the plea. What now remains to be seen, is how will the fate of about 5 lakh students, which is currently hanging in balance, turn out.