Bombay High Court Asks CISCE to Produce Grading Plan for Pending Board Exams

The Bombay High Court has directed the CISCE Board, better known as the ICSE Board, to present the grading plan it intends to follow for marking students who will not take the ICSE and ISC examinations due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

The bench, comprising Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice SS Shinde, asked the CISCE Board to present its alternative grading plan for students who would choose to skip the pending board examination. The Board has to submit the grading plan by 22 June.

The High Court gave the directions to the CISCE Board after hearing a Public Interest Litigation filed by Advocate Arvind Tiwari, whose child studies in Class 10. The PIL filed by the lawyer requested the court to direct the CISCE to cancel the pending board examinations due to the pandemic, as holding examinations during such a time would place many students under considerable risk of getting the disease.

The High Court responded by asking the CISCE to submit the grading plan it will follow for marking students. 

The lawyer had also complained about the stringent manner in which students are graded in their preparatory examination to prepare them for the finals. Many students are forced to take the preparatory examination without being completely prepared as the examination is given while they also preparing for other entrance examinations. This puts them at a serious disadvantage when the marks for the preparatory examination is used for grading. 

Using the marks obtained in the preparatory examination to declare the final results will compel many students to take the board examination anyway, regardless of the risk posed by the coronavirus, as they will be worried about their future.