Kriti Agrawal –
In the aftermath of the pandemic, parents of Class XI students in Kerala have petitioned the Supreme Court of India for directives to cancel the Class XI Examination scheduled by the Kerala State Board on September 6th, 2021.
The remedy was sought through an application requesting assistance in a petition for the annulment of Class XII State Board Examinations in several states, claiming that Kerala’s Class XI students are positioned similarly to those from other states.
According to the application filed by Advocate Prashant Padmanabhan, after the 12th classes had already begun in the State, the government abruptly announced that the 11th Examination would be held as well, which has harmed students’ mental health because these marks will be used to determine admission to Undergraduate Courses.
The applicants contend that cancelling the Board Exam for Class XI of the State of Kerala, as well as the CBSE/ICSE class XII board exams, is just and reasonable in order to ensure equality between students of all streams.
According to the petitioner, unlike CBSE or ICSE, the State Government in Kerala considers the 11th and 12th Two grades together as qualifying marks for further education. As a result, in comparison to CBSE and ICSE children will have less time to focus on their 11th exams, the results of which will determine their future.
The petitioner has urged the Court to address the position of students who do not have access to network connections, which makes it impossible for them to prepare for the Examination, citing the Supreme Court’s recent findings on Digital Divide in a Suo Motu case.
According to the plea, it will be inequitable if one set of Boards does not conduct examinations while State Boards do because level playing requires that all Boards use the same standard approach for assessing children.