No Child Should Be Put To Prejudice: Kerala High Court To State On Conducting Grade XI Board Exams In Offline Mode

The Kerala High Court on Thursday directed the State to file its counter affidavit, informing the Court regarding all the precautions it will take in order to conduct Grade XI state board examinations in physical mode.

Justice Devan Ramachandran while issuing the aforementioned direction orally declared that 'no child shall be put to prejudice for the sake of examinations'. 

This development comes after a petition was filed before the Court seeking cancellation of the physical Board examinations scheduled for the Grade XI students in the State amidst the ongoing pandemic. 

Government Pleader Manoj PM submitted that the State government had previously conducted board examinations for Grade X and XII during the pandemic and that it did not result in any surge in the Test Positivity Rate in the State. He argued that this was an unnecessary issue being brought before the Court. 

Responding to this, the Single Bench remarked that it was quite necessary since the State had recently plunged into the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

"You cannot say it is unnecessary, Counsel. Have you seen the TPR rates of late? It was 12 today and it is on the rise every day. The third wave is here. We should be careful," the Judge remarked.  

However, the Court added that it did not object to the State conducting examinations, and clarified that it wanted to make sure that sufficient precautions can be taken to avoid another adversity.

"The State should keep the Court informed regarding all the steps and measures it will take to conduct the examinations in a manner that is safe for the students. Just because you have done it without grave consequences before does not warrant that it may not happen this time.'

If the Court is inclined with the statement submitted by the State, the Court clarified that it will not stand in the way of conducting the Board Examinations. However, it emphasized that no child should be put at risk in the process. 

The matter has been listed on 10th August for further consideration.