Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi (MS)
New Delhi, Oct 21: The Supreme Court has prohibited the Karnataka state government from publishing the half-yearly examination results for students in grades eight to 10.
The Supreme Court reprimanded the Karnataka government for what it termed as harassment of students by holding board exams across various grades. The court has ordered that the results of board examinations for grades eight to 10 should not be published until further notice.
The apex court was hearing an appeal filed by unaided recognised schools challenging the Karnataka High Court's verdict delivered on March 22.
The Supreme Court stated, “Why are you harassing students? You should not behave like this. Do not make this an issue of ego. If you are truly concerned about the well-being of students, open good schools. Do not strangle students. None of the other states follow the educational model being implemented by the Karnataka government.” Senior lawyer Devadath Kamath represented the Karnataka government in the Supreme Court.
Lawyer Kamath explained, “The state government of Karnataka has withdrawn the circular for conducting board exams for students in grades 5, 8, 9, and 10 in the current academic year in seven rural districts of the state. In the other 24 districts, the examinations are being held.”
The Supreme Court further directed the state government to provide an affidavit with the exact details of the examinations within four weeks. The two-judge bench, comprising Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice Sathish Chandra Sharma, also instructed that if examinations have not been conducted in any district, those districts should not proceed with publishing results.
Earlier, a divisional bench of the High Court had allowed the state government to conduct board examinations for various grades in the academic year 2023-24, overturning a single-judge bench order from March 6. However, the High Court's single-judge bench had previously quashed the Karnataka government's decision in October 2023 to conduct board exams for various grades through the Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB).