On 6th March National President of Bharatiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha and Lok Sabha MP Tejasvi Surya hit out at the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka government after it directed all schools in the state to ask students of classes 5, 8 and 9 to bring their own answer sheets for exams. He stated that the state administration is in a “complete mess” and has “lost the dignity to continue in office.” He took to social media to raise an objection and wrote, “Congress government, which has pushed Karnataka into bankruptcy, is now forcing students to bring their own Answer Booklets for board exams. This govt is in a complete mess and has lost the dignity to continue in office.”
The parliamentarian urged the chief minister “to immediately borrow & release funds to the education department, ensure answer booklets get printed.” He added, “Lack of foresight and planning by the govt shouldn’t stress the student community.”
Congress Govt, which has pushed Karnataka into bankruptcy, is now forcing students to bring their own Answer Booklets for board exams.
— Tejasvi Surya (ಮೋದಿಯ ಪರಿವಾರ) (@Tejasvi_Surya) March 6, 2024
This govt is in complete mess, & has lost the dignity to continue in office.
Urge CM Shri @siddaramaiah to immediately borrow & release funds… pic.twitter.com/L8ua1Ay97a
The Department of School Education and Literacy (DSEL) had announced that it would supply only question papers for the board exam of classes 5, 8, and 9, and asked the students to bring their answer sheets. Furthermore, the department decided to assess the response sheets at the block level. The DSEL has held board exams for classes 5 and 8 since the 2022–2023 academic year, and it extended the exam for class 9 until the 2023–2024 academic year. The tests were scheduled to take place from 11 to 18 March with the Karnataka State Examination and KSEAB having the authority to administer them.
The department offered a free answer booklet with questions for the exam in 2022–2023. The agency announced earlier in the year that answer booklets will be available. The KSEAB made the model question papers available as a booklet on its website. The department, however, reversed course and stated that it would only supply the question paper and a sheet on which the student’s information needed to be written. The KSEAB issued all instructions to high school headmasters last week via video conference to remind students to bring the answer sheets.
The board also ordered that the answer sheets brought by the students should be uniform. Teachers, parents, and School Development and Monitoring Committees (SDMCs) all criticised the development. They asked how all the students could procure uniform answer sheets.
However, the state government’s notifications designating the Karnataka School Examination & Assessment Board (KSEAB) as the appropriate body to administer the Summative Assessment-2 exams for students in Classes 5, 8, and 9 as well as the annual examination for Class 11 were revoked by the Karnataka High Court on 6th March. Students following the Karnataka State Board Syllabus and enrolled in government-assisted, unaided schools and institutions were subjected to the rule. The examination was to commence on 9th March.
Registered Associations of Private Unaided Schools had challenged the state govt order in court, arguing that centralised board exams can have adverse effects on the learning of the students. The associations highlighted the significance of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) in assessing students’ progress at the school level, as opposed to centralised one-time board exams.
“When the government intends to bring changes to the examination system affecting such a large number of students, it would be desirable as well as mandatory to follow the democratic procedure stipulated. And in case of failure, there need be no further justification to set such faulty measures at nought, regardless of merit policy and object behind such measures,” pronounced single judge bench of Justice Ravi V Hosmani.
With the court order, now the board exams for classes 5, 8 and 9 have been cancelled.
