Karnataka HC allows board exams for classes 5,8,9 and 11

On March 6, the Karnataka High Court nullified the decision to conduct board exams for classes 5,8 and 9 after the Karnataka government’s school education department issued a notification for the same.

A day after a single bench of the Karnataka High Court quashed board exams for classes 5, 8, 9, and 11, a division bench has stayed the order, paving the way for exams to be held on March 11.

Justices K Somashekar and Rajesh Rai K stayed the March 6 order passed by Justice Krishna Dixit halting the exams, according to Bar and Bench.

"Without expressing any opinion on the merits of the matter, we are of the considered opinion that the impugned order passed by the learned single judge is required to be stayed," the Court said on March 7.

On March 6, the Karnataka High Court nullified the decision to conduct board exams for classes 5,8 and 9 after the Karnataka government’s school education department issued a notification for the same.

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

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.