CBSE Board Exam 2020: Expert panel likely to announce decision on scrapping pending Class 12 board exams by today evening

The Centre and the CBSE on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that a decision on a plea seeking to scrap the remaining Class 12 exams will be taken by Wednesday evening, or by Thursday. The next hearing on the matter is scheduled for 25 June, reports said. Appearing for the Centre and the CBSE, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari, and Sanjiv Khanna “that an expert body is in the process of taking a final decision in the matter very shortly and hopefully by tomorrow (Wednesday)”. The exams, which were delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, are scheduled to be conducted from 1 to 15 July. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) also told the apex court that a decision on whether to cancel the remaining exams will be taken by Wednesday evening. Advocate Rishi Malhotra, appearing for the petitioners, challenged the decision to conduct the remaining exams, stating that the same is arbitrary and in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution, Live Law reported. The apex court said that the matter regarding the ICSE exams was “also in a limbo and instructed the SG to respond to the same”, the report added. The court said that the ICSE could follow the decision of the CBSE once it is made. The Supreme Court had earlier instructed the CBSE to consult with various stakeholders and examine whether marks could be given based on students’ performance in internal assessments. With inputs from agencies