SC stays K'taka HC approval of board exams for classes 5, 8, 9, and 11

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: The Supreme Court has halted a March 22 ruling by the Karnataka High Court that approved the conduct of board exams for Classes 5, 8, 9, and 11 in schools affiliated with the Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board, as reported by Live Law.

Additionally, the court directed that the results from these board exams, which resumed following the High Court's orders last month, should be temporarily withheld by schools and not shared with the student's parents.

This decision was made by a bench comprising Justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal in response to petitions challenging the High Court's judgment.

The court expressed concern about the Karnataka government's approach, suggesting it seemed determined to jeopardise students' futures, causing distress to students, parents, teachers and school administrators.

Earlier, a High Court division bench had sided with the Karnataka government's stance that these exams didn't fit the traditional definition of board exams.

They rejected petitions from the Registered Unaided Private Schools Management Association Karnataka that sought to halt the exams.

The High Court highlighted that true board exams should publicly display results, have answer papers evaluated externally, and allow for student detention upon failure — features absent from these exams.

The division bench overturned a March 7 ruling by a single-judge bench, which had invalidated 2023 notifications permitting the exams.

The Supreme Court, commenting on Monday, indicated that the High Court's March 22 decision might not align with the Right to Education Act upon initial review.