No board exams for classes 5,8,9,11 in Karnataka: HC quashes state govt’s circular

Last year in March, the High Court quashed circulars issued by the Education Department introducing board-level assessment for classes 5 and 8.

After the Karnataka government’s school education department issued a notification for conducting board exams for classes 5,8,9, and 11, the Karnataka High Court has nullified the decision.

A single bench headed by Justice Krishna Dixit has ruled against the state government and sided with arguments presented by Registered Unaided Private Schools Association who contended that such exams would contradict the Right to Education Act's (RTE) emphasis on continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE) for these grades.

According to a report by The Indian Express, Lokesh Talikatte, president of the Registered Unaided Private Schools Association said, “RTE mandates that continuous and comprehensive evaluation must be conducted at school level for classes 5,8 and 9 and it should not be a board exam. CCE means conducting examinations at the school level, evaluating them at the school level and assessing the students based on their learning abilities. However, when the question paper and evaluation happen at board level and taluk level respectively, it hampers the child’s learning curve.”

Last year in March, the High Court quashed circulars issued by the Education Department introducing board-level assessment for classes 5 and 8.

This applied to students studying in the state syllabus and the question papers were set to be designed by the Karnataka School Examinations and Assessment Board, as per PTI.

The Education Department's notices were challenged by the Organisation for Unaided Recognised Schools and the Registered Unaided Private Schools’ Management Association. However, a division bench later allowed the exam with certain changes. The Karnataka state government introduced the same for class 9 through a notification in September 2023.