Karnataka HC scraps board exam for Classes 5, 8, 9, 11; backs continuous evaluation

NEW DELHI: The Karnataka High Court has quashed the notification issued by the department of school education to conduct the board exam for Classes 5, 8, 9 and 11. Justice Ravi V Hosmani delivered the ruling while hearing the petition filed by the private school association to continue with the continuous and comprehensive evaluation mandated in the Right to Education Act (RTE).

The bench highlighted that the schools should follow the continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE) framework to align with the principles of inclusivity and holistic development. Private schools have been expressing concerns over the introduction of board exams for Class 5 and 8 stating that it will create anxiety and put pressure on students.

In December 2022, the Karnataka government had announced to do away with the detention policy and introduced formative summative assessments for Classes 5 and 8. The Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) was given the responsibility to conduct the annual exam and prepare model question papers.

In March 2023, the Karnataka High Court nullified the order issued by the state education department to hold board-level exams for Class 5 and 8. The circulars were challenged by the Organisation for Unaided Recognised Schools and the Registered Unaided Private Schools’ Management Association.

However, the department decided to expand the board exams for Classes 9 and 11 along with Classes 5 and 8. Later, after opposition from student groups, private school associations and others, the Karnataka government announced to conduct annual exams for these classes from 2023-24 and board exams only for Class 10 and 12.

Detention policy

In the original RTE Act under section 16 there was no detention policy and expulsion of children from school till completion of elementary education. However, the RTE Act was later amended in 2019 to introduce regular examinations.

On detention policy, Niranjanaradhya VP, programme head of Universalisation of Education at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore said: “The ‘no detention’ provision in the RTE Act does not imply abandoning procedures that assess children’s learning. The RTE Act provides for putting in place a continuous and comprehensive evaluation procedure – a procedure that will be non-threatening, releases the child from fear and trauma of failure and enables the teacher to pay individual attention to the child’s learning and performance.”