In the aftermath of the Pandemic, parents of Class XI students from Kerala have petitioned the Supreme Court of India for an order cancelling the Class XI Examination scheduled to be held by the Kerala State Board on September 6th, 2021.
The relief has been sought through an application seeking intervention in the plea filed for cancellation of the Class XII State Board Examination in various States, claiming that Kerala's Class XI students are similarly placed as Class XII students from various States.
The application was filed by the Advocate Prashant Padmanbahan. According to the application, after the Plus 2 classes had already begun in the State, abruptly the Government declared that the Plus 1 Examination would also be held. This has negatively impacted students' mental health because for the admission to undergraduate courses these marks will be counted.
In oder to ensure equality, the applicants has argued that just as the CBSE/ICSE class Xll board exams were cancelled, similarly the board exams of Xl of the State of Kerala should be cancelled .
According to the applicants, in order to pursue the higher education the marks of plus one and plus two are together considered as the qualifying marks by the state government of Kerala , unlike CBSE or ICSE. Therefore , the students will have less time than CBSE and ICSE students to focus on their plus one exams, the results of which will determine their future.
The Apex courts observations on Digital Divide in its suo motu case was highlighted during the proceedings, the applicants had requested the Court to take into account the situation of those students who do not have access to network connectivity, making it difficult for them to prepare for the Examination.
According to the application, it will be inequitable if one set of Boards does not conduct examinations while State Boards do, because fair play requires that all Boards use the same standard of procedure for assessing students.
