CBSE's Assessment Scheme Has Attained Finality, Received Court's Seal of Approval: SC

The Supreme Court Monday said that CBSE’s assessment scheme for evaluation of marks of class 12 students, whose board examinations were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year, has attained finality and received the seal of approval of the apex court. Observing that it will not reopen the issue of CBSE’s scheme at all, the top court said it will not be open to the petitioners, who have raised grievance related to the scheme and evaluation of marks, to challenge the scheme.

“We are making it very clear, so far as the formula is concerned, that has attained finality. We will not reopen that issue at all,” a bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and C T Ravikumar told the counsel appearing for the petitioners. The apex court noted that the petitioners are in effect questioning the ratio prescribed in the scheme, formulated by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), which has received approval of the top court and similar arguments for reconsideration were earlier rejected.

While disposing of the plea, the bench said the petitioners would pursue their representation made to the authority in this regard and the same be decided on its own merits in accordance with the finalised scheme. In other words, it will not be open to the petitioners to challenge the scheme or the ratio prescribed therein for the purpose of evaluation of marks. That has been upheld and received seal of approval of this court in the previous orders, the bench said.

It said the representation be decided expeditiously, preferable within three weeks from the receipt of copy of its order. On June 17, the top court had approved the assessment schemes of the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) and the CBSE, which had adopted the 30:30:40 formula for evaluation of marks for students of 12th standard based on results of class 10, 11, and 12 respectively.

The CBSE had earlier said it would evaluate class 12 students for theory based on 30 per cent marks from class 10 board, 30 per cent from class 11, and 40 per cent from marks based on the performance in the unit, mid-term, and pre-board tests in class 12. It had said that marks obtained by class 12 students in practical and internal assessment on an actual basis as uploaded by schools on the CBSE Portal would be also considered in deciding final results.

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