The SG said the CBSE has come up with an evaluation scheme where Class XII students will be assessed on the basis of their last three exams.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Thursday told the Supreme Court that the pending examinations of Classes X and XII that were to be held from July 1 have now been cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The board, however, said Class XII students will have the option to appear in exams later or take assessments based on their performance in the past three exams.

A Bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar asked the CBSE to clarify if it would give students the option to appear for exams later or would declare results on the basis of internal assessment. Besides, the SC also asked the Centre to come up with a time frame for a conclusive decision on the exams conducted by the state boards. It will pass the final order on Friday.

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBSE and the Centre, told the judges that the CBSE has decided to completely cancel the Class X exams, while Class XII exams are now optional and may be conducted when the situation improves.

Delhi, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have also conveyed their inability to conduct examinations in the crisis, he said.

The Indian School Certificate Examinations (ICSE) board, through senior counsel Jaideep Gupta, informed the Bench that in principle it is agreeable to the scheme proposed by the CBSE, and has also cancelled its Class X and XII exams. Students will be graded on the basis of internal assessments.

The SG said the CBSE has come up with an evaluation scheme where Class XII students will be assessed on the basis of their last three exams.

Raising concerns over the safety of lakhs of students, a petition filed by the parents sought scrapping of the remaining board exams and declaring the results by either calculating the average of tests already conducted or based on an internal assessment, so that students are not exposed to COVID-19 infection. Since majority of the papers had already been conducted, results of the CBSE board exams 2020 should be declared as soon as possible, counsel Rishi Malhotra argued on behalf of parents.

The CBSE informed the SC that the new academic year can start only in September after board results are announced in mid-August. The academic year will be shifted for the 2020-21 session, the SG said.