LI Network
Published on: 21 August 2023 at 11:00 IST
The Kerala High Court recently rendered a decision concerning the consideration of examination scores for higher studies.
The Court ruled that schools should take into account the best marks achieved by a student in both regular and supplementary exams for 11th and 12th grades.
This approach ensures that the purpose of conducting supplementary or improvement exams is logically fulfilled. The case stemmed from a situation where a student, despite qualifying for the Kerala Medical and Engineering Examinations (KEAM), was denied admission to higher studies due to not achieving their best scores in 11th and 12th grade exams.
Justice Basant Balaji presided over the case and highlighted that the objective of conducting supplementary or improvement exams is to allow candidates to attain higher grades.
The Court pointed out that it is illogical and discriminatory to grant a person who appeared for the 1st-year examination alone the best score obtained by them, while denying a person who took improvement exams for both 1st and 2nd years the same privilege.
In this particular case, the petitioner had taken the 1st year Higher Secondary Examination in 2020-2021 during the 11th grade but failed to achieve the required D+ grade in Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics.
The petitioner then pursued improvement or supplementary exams for both the 11th and 12th grades. However, despite the provision allowing candidates who didn’t pass with a D+ grade in specific subjects to retake those subjects, the published results did not consider the best scores from previous exams.
The petitioner’s eligibility for higher studies, particularly in engineering through KEAM, was negatively affected by this decision. The petitioner sought relief through a writ petition, requesting that the Court mandate the educational authority to consider the best scores from both regular and supplementary exams and issue a mark list reflecting these combined scores.
In response, the 3rd respondent (educational authority) argued that the relevant clause applied only to candidates appearing for 1st year papers, not those who took improvement exams for both 1st and 2nd years.
The Court referred to a previous case where a similar issue was addressed by the Supreme Court, noting the principle of considering better marks, especially in improvement exams.
The Court concluded that the intention of conducting improvement or supplementary exams is to facilitate students in improving their scores.
Therefore, the Court ordered the educational authority to declare the petitioner’s result by considering the best scores obtained in both regular and supplementary exams for both 1st and 2nd year higher secondary exams.
The Court further directed the issuance of a mark list reflecting these combined best scores, aligning with the purpose of improvement exams and providing relief to the petitioner.