Aishwarya Rathore-
The Kerala Students Union (KSU) filed the PIL on behalf of the students aggrieved by the decision of the State General Education Department, not to award grace marks in SSLC and Grade XII for the previous academic year. The government justified its decision by citing the fact that schools were closed from 2020 to 2021 due to the pandemic.
A petition has been filed against the government for not granting grace marks to students awaiting their final exam results. The petition stated that the ‘rules cannot be changed after the game has begun’ in the case of a student’s final exam result. It was said that the decision was made without giving due notice.
Additionally, the petitioner submitted that several programmes were conducted in the previous academic year by Scouts and Guides, SPC, NCC, and JRC amid the pandemic upon the instruction of the school authorities.
The students under these organizations delivered cooked meals, hand sanitizers, dry ratio, face masks and other essential commodities to the helpless during the lockdown. The students were disciplined for their service in the wake of a national crisis.
The petitioner also relied on the decision in Philip Xavier Antony vs. Vice-Chancellor, MG University Kottayam & Ors [2017(5) KHC 992], where it was held that “A beneficial approach should be made in the award of grace marks since the students participating n various sports activities, NCC, NSS, and cultural activities are diverting their substantial academic hours for the purpose of practice and participation”.
In fact, they backed up their claim by citing the fact that more than 2 lakh students benefited from grace marks during the previous academic year. By scrapping the scheme entirely without justification, the government was accused of violating Article 14 of the Constitution.
It was submitted before the Court that “The way in which the government changed its policy was ‘arbitrary, unfair and highly irresponsible”. The students who had worked hard for the grace marks were now undergoing ‘mental agony’ due to this sudden change in policy.
Accordingly, it was prayed that the respondents be directed to continue the policy of awarding grace marks in the previous academic year and, as a result, the government order conveying the policy change be quashed.
A similar petition was filed recently before the court where a Class 10 student had challenged the same order of the Government.