The Bombay High Court of Maharashtra has asked Maharashtra Government a legit reason to cancel the Class 10th Boards exam. HC has said that this decision is “a mockery of the education system”. A bench Justices S J Kathawalla and SP Tavade now seek reply from the Government of Maharashtra on this.
On April 20, 2021, Varsha Gaikwad has announced the Maharashtra State Class 10th exam will be cancelled and students will be promoted to next session based on objective criteria. Dhananjay Kulkarni, a Professor, has challenged the Government’s decision to cancel the Maharashtra State 10th Boards examination. Incidentally, he has also challenged the decision taken by CBSE, ICSE to cancel the Class 10th examination. The High Court, Bombay had fixed a hearing in this regard on Thursday (May 20,2021).
Advocate Uday Warunjika, appearing for Kulkarni, has said that each Board will have its separate marking scheme and assessment criteria. This may create difficulties for those who will be taking admission in Class 11th this year. In this response, Advocate Kiran Gandhi has argued that the SSC board is yet to devise a formula to evaluate student’s scores for the Class 10th. The decision on this will be taken in 02 weeks.
However, the Bench has not found the arguments appealing for the students’ future. Justice Kathwalla has said that this decision is a mockery of the education system. The Court has further asked whether the Government is trying to promote students without an exam to the next class. He said, “If yes, then God save the education system of this state”. The court has said that the tenth class is a crucial year and hence the exam is important. Promoting students without examination will spoil students’ career and future. “You are destroying the system,” said Justice Kathawala.
The exam for Class 10th was cancelled due to the surge in COVID-19 cases. The High Court has noticed that the coronavirus case graph is now decreasing. It has asked the Government why Class 10th exams were cancelled but not Class 12th exams. “Why this discrimination?” said the court.
The HC has also added that students are the future of the country. They can not be promoted to the next sessions year after year. A student who used to secure 40% marks in exams has secured 90% marks in online examinations. It is not right to promote students without an exam said the Court. The Bench has asked the State Government to file an affidavit as to why the court should not set aside the decision of the cancellation of the Class 10th board exam.
