Students from Assam have filed a petition in the Supreme Court of India seeking cancellation of the High School Leaving Certification Examination (HSLC) or Class 10 and Higher Secondary (Class 12) board examinations, NDTV reported.
The plea states that students are being coerced into appearing for the exams despite the unfavourable conditions due to the pandemic.
“In the interest of the safety of lakhs of students and their parents it is better to cancel the exams.” the plea stated.
“The government’s statement that Covid positivity rate below 2 per cent has no relevance,” it further said.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said that the state board examinations for classes 10 and 12 will be held from July 15, if the COVID-19 positivity rate goes below two per cent.
A series of meetings were held by the education department with guardians, students'' organisations and other stakeholders and they are in favour of holding the examinations, Sarma said at a press conference held to mark the completion of the first 30 days of his government
"The schedule for the examinations will be announced within the next few days but with the rider that the positivity rate in the state comes down to less than two per cent," he said.
The current positivity rate in the state is 3.24 per cent. The examinations will be held for one or two days with strict compliance of Covid protocols and the question papers will be of objective type, he stated.
"The matric (class 10) and the higher secondary examinations are important as several empowering schemes like handing laptops and scooties are linked to these examinations," he said.
For a while now, students in Assam have also been trending hashtags such as #WakeUpSEBAAHSEC, #CancelAssamBoardExams and #EndTheDilemma to attract the government's attention.
Many have also stated that they need to prepare for other entrance exams and the delay is only making matters worse.
The High School Leaving Certificate examination for Class 10, held by the Board of Secondary Education, Assam, and the Class 12 final examination conducted by the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council, were scheduled to start in May. The exams were postponed due to the outbreak of the second wave of COVID-19.
(With inputs from agencies)
