'Students' Lives At Risk' : Plea In High Court To Cancel Karnataka SSLC Examinations

The petition filed by S V Singre Gowda states that the whole world is fighting the pandemic which has changed the life of people including children. Children are battling with regard to studies online and it is highly impossible to understand the subject in online classes. Further, only some of the institutions might have conducted online classes and in and around Karnataka especially in rural areas there is no such facility and in some areas not even a single class has been conducted. Therefore, the conducting of examinations for the SSLC in these circumstances is bad and necessary directions need to be issued to the respondents to stop the examinations immediately.

The petition filed through Advocate R P Somashekharaiah also states that state government has cancelled the PUC Examination and passed all the students based on the marks obtained in the 10th standard, 1st PUC and as such nothing prevented the state government to adopt the same measures and find solution for passing SSLC students, either on the basis of preparatory examination or on the basis of the marks obtained in the 9th standard.

Further, it is said that children and parents and a number of families have gone through emotional and suffering psychologically because of death due to covid-19 in their families and due to loss of relatives.

Moreover, 10th standard exams have been cancelled in most of the states in India. The CBSE, ICSE and most state boards have cancelled the 1-0th and 12th standard exams. Only two or three states in India which includes Karnataka are taking the dare steps to conduct the examination.

The petition also says that the Central Government is taking steps to vaccinate children between the age group of 1 to 18 years but it is yet to be started and at this juncture when covid-19 delta plus variant has already entered Karnataka, the exams will be risking the life of children of SSLC students.

It is also said that "Many parents are single parents or have a single child and if anything happens to that child can the state government get the life of the child back. Keeping this in view, cancelling the examination is absolutely required."

The petition prays for cancellation of SSLC exams and alternatively it prays for directions to the respondents to take appropriate remedial measures to pass all the SSLC students, irrespective of repeaters based on the marks obtained in 8th, 9th, preparatory examination which is conducted for 10th standard. Or adopt the method for passing 10th standard students which has been decided by other states.

By way of interim relief the petition prays for the SSLC exams which are scheduled to be conducted on July 19 and 20.