The pending examinations for Classes 10 and 12 have been cancelled, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) said on Thursday, announcing an alternative assessment formula that will classify students on the basis of their performance in subjects for which the tests were carried out before the closure came into effect at the end of March.

The decision was first disclosed at a hearing in the Supreme Court where a petition was filed against the July 1-15, 2020 review schedule by a group of parents who said that going ahead with the tests would expose their children to coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

Later in the evening, the board – the country's largest student body – announced a decision to cancel the exams, citing "requests received from various state governments and changed circumstances as of the date."

Appearing for the Center and CBSE, Attorney General (SG) Tushar Mehta told the Supreme Court that Delhi, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu had expressed their inability to conduct the examinations.

At least 23 subjects for 12-year-old students were pending. The seven pending papers for Class 10 students were only for students in north-eastern Delhi schools, where riots earlier in the year forced the process to be pushed back.

The fate of the school-graduating examinations is tied to the college admissions process across the country, which students and experts expect to be delayed this year due to the pandemic.

Internal Assessment Scheme

According to the CBSE notification, the results will be announced by 15 July with scores based on the new assessment formula. While Class 10 students will have no opportunity to take a rehearsal, students in the Twelfth Grade Graduate School may choose to take a rehearsal at a later date if "conditions become favourable."

According to the notification, automatic assessments will be carried out in the following way: if a student has appeared for more than three subjects before the examinations have been suspended, the average score will be calculated taking into account the three subjects in which the student scored the highest. This will be allocated to the remaining subject.

For those who have appeared in fewer examinations, the average will be based on the two highest score subjects and assigned to the remaining papers.

"Candidates whose results will be declared on the basis of the assessment scheme will be allowed to appear in the optional examinations to improve their performance if they so wish. However, the marks obtained by the applicant in these optional examinations will be treated as final, "the notification added.

The Council for Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE), appearing in a related PIL at the apex court, has agreed to take CBSE's decision to cancel Class 10 and Class 12 examinations scheduled for 2-11 July. However, it still remains to be decided to give Class 12 students the option to take the remaining exam on a future date.

The bench of justices AM Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjiv Khanna have noted that there are many uncertainties in the plan for future review. "The conditions may vary from state to state. How are you going to decide when the time is right to conduct a test across the country?

Will the Center take this decision, or will you leave it to the States? Some timeframe, say after a month, must be specified to make this decision. It can not be left to states, "Maheshwari said.

Mehta clarified that the decision to hold the examinations would be taken by the Centre.

The court notified the case for orders on Friday and directed CBSE to file a better affidavit.

The petitioner 's lawyer, Rishi Malhotra, told the court that the former may be the basis for the assessment of subjects where the practical examination has ended and the theory has remained. The bench refused, saying, "These nuances must be worked out by CBSE. Once the scheme has been notified and [if] defective, it may be challenged by the court, "the judges said.

"I am pleased that today's decision has been taken in the best interests of students and has helped parents," Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio, said in a tweet on Thursday.

Sisodia had written to the Union human resources department ministry on June 17, requesting the pending Class 10 and 12 papers be cancelled keeping in mind the spike in Covid-19 infections.

Experts argued that the decision to close the examination was justified by how the outbreak was growing. "There could be some dissatisfaction among students who really want to take the exams. If some provision is made to allow them to sit for the examination at a later date, this may be addressed to some extent. The important aspect is that the method chosen to mark students is fair and equitable, "said Dr. Inder Mohan Kapahy, a former member of the University Grants Commission, adding that examination meetings could lead to more cases.