HC declines govt plea to strike down order cancelling board exams for Classes 5, 8

BENGALURU: A division bench of the Karnataka High Court on Saturday refused a plea by the state government against a single-judge bench order quashing a notification on conducting public exams for students of Classes 5 and 8 this year.

A single-judge bench of Justice Pradeep Singh Yerur had on Friday ordered cancellation of state board-level examinations for students of Classes 5 and 8. The examinations were scheduled to be commence from March 13 and the high court had directed the state government to revise the schedule.

The single-judge bench had also said that the order is applicable only for this academic year and all rules should be followed from next year, before conducting board-level exams. The judge also said that the annual examinations should be conducted as earlier and the evaluation of answer scripts should be done at school level. The court issued the order after hearing a petition filed by the unaided schools’ association.

The state government had challenged this order before a division bench and sought that it be struck down. However, the division bench of Justices Narendar Ashok Kinagi declined to do so and has posted the matter for further hearing on March 14.