“We cannot allow the state to put the lives of more than 9 lakh students at stake. This is not like opening Tasmac shops during lockdown,” said the division bench of Justices Vineet Kothari and R Suresh Kumar. (File Photo)
The Madras High Court on Monday said it was prima facie convinced to restrain the Tamil Nadu government from conducting Class 10 exams and asked if the state “could give an undertaking that no student will get Covid-19 infection”.
“We cannot allow the state to put the lives of more than 9 lakh students at stake. This is not like opening Tasmac shops during lockdown,” said the division bench of Justices Vineet Kothari and R Suresh Kumar.
The court was hearing a plea moved by the Tamil Nadu High and Higher Secondary School Graduate Teachers Association against the government’s plan to conduct exams this month.
“Can the Tamil Nadu government give an undertaking that no student will get Covid-19 infection?” the court asked even as the government counsel asserted that the government had taken all precautionary steps to conduct the exam safely.
Having completed Class 11 and 12 exams before the lockdown, the school education department had announced Class 10 exams from June 15 to 26 with the hope that valuation and results would be complete by August — when the Centre and state governments are looking to reopen schools.
For 9.7 lakh students who are to appear for the Class 10 exams, the government had prepared 46.37 lakh reusable cloth masks with the help of self help groups besides other basic safety precautions.
The petitioner argued that the Covid situation was not so bad when exams were announced in May, and that conducting exams in the present situation would be a serious risk.
The court adjourned the case to Thursday for further hearing, hoping that the government would consider options to postpone the exams.
Meanwhile, political parties also questioned the government’s decision. Accusing the state government of “playing with the lives of children”, DMK chief M K Stalin alleged that the government had failed to prevent the spread of Covid infection.
PMK founder S Ramadoss and veteran Tamil politician Vaiko of MDMK said the government should announce that all students have cleared the exam.