AP Govt will be accountable if there’s even one death due to board exams: SC

THE Supreme Court Thursday berated the Andhra Pradesh government for the casual approach with which it wants to conduct the Class XII board examinations.

A vacation bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari said it would hold the state government accountable even if there was one fatality as a result of holding in-session Class XII exams next month.

"When other boards had cancelled the exams, why does Andhra Pradesh want to show it is different?" the bench asked, going on to query the state government about how it planned to arrange 34,634 rooms for 5.20 lakh students and organize the support staff and logistics.

The court also wanted to know when the results would be declared if the exams are held in July. "Would't the late result deprive the students from applying for adminissions in universities?" the court asked

Mahfooz Nazki, the standing counsel for the Andra Pradesh Government, said the decision was taken by the government based on a reasoned policy. The unimpressed court asked Nazki to place on record the details of the policy and how it would address the concerns raised by the court with regard to the safety of the student.

The matter will be heard tomorrow.

Earlier, the CBSE and ICSE cancelled their class XII board exams and formulated schemes to assess the final results. The top court affirmed their decision. Today, it also directed all the state boards to notify their assessment schemes within 10 days and ensure the results are declared by July 31.

The bench refused to pass directions for a uniform assessment scheme, saying every board was an autonomous institution.