NE LEGAL BUREAU
AHMEDABAD, JULY 13
The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation against the state government’s decision to hold in-person examination for Class 10 and 12 board repeaters and private students in view of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We are here not to lower the standards of education, but we want the standards to improve. So repeaters and private students, let them appear in examinations, let them study and let them pass the examination,” said Chief Justice Vikram Nath.
The sooner the examinations are held, the better it will be for students as they can get admission to colleges before the seats are taken, said a division bench of Chief Justice Nath and Justice Biren Vaishnav.
The state government told the court that it has made elaborate arrangements for holding the examinations. As many as 2,916 school buildings have been designated for the examinations that will start on July 15, government pleader Manisha Lav Kumar told the court.
“Very few students will appear for all the subjects, and fortunately we are in the best situation as far as pandemic is concerned where the positivity rate is (currently) very low,” she said.
Petitioner Naresh Shah, who heads an association of guardians of school students, contended that the decision by the Gujarat State Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) to conduct physical examinations for repeater (those appearing for exam a second time) puts them at the risk of contracting coronavirus.
For regular students of Class 10 and 12, the Board has decided to grant mass promotion in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the same concession should be provided to these students too, the petition demanded. Instead of in-person exams, objective or online examinations can be held, the petition proposed.
