The Madras High Court has refused to accept an argument that since the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had awarded marks for class X students, on the basis of internal assessment, despite not conducting the Board examinations due to COVID-19 lockdown last year, the State Board schools could also follow suit.
Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy wrote: “The CBSE is a different examination Board and their decision cannot mandate the State Government to change its policy decision and more specifically to award the marks without an examination which otherwise would not be appropriate.”
The judges also said that it was not only Tamil Nadu but many other States too had taken a similar decision to simply declare all Class X students to have passed the Board examinations during the pandemic period without awarding specific marks for each subject that they had studied online during the lockdown.
“We do not find any illegality in the policy decision of the State Government so as to cause interference in the Government Order issued on July 26, 2021. Marks can be awarded in case of examination where performance of student is assessed but cannot be in a case where no examination was conducted,” the Bench added.
The judgment was passed while dismissing a writ appeal preferred by a girl student who had completed Class X in Tamil Nadu and wanted to join Class XI in Kerala. It was her case that the schools in Kerala insist on producing the Class X mark statement as a prerequisite to grant admission in Class XI.
The Division Bench took note that the appellant had already approached the Kerala High Court and obtained an order to gain admission in Class XI without a mark statement. Therefore, they held that they did not find any necessity to interfere with a single judge’s decision to dismiss her writ petition challenging the July 2021 G.O.
