Madras HC issues notice to Tamil Nadu to submit SOP for conducting TN SSLC Examinations

Madras High Court has asked the Tamil Nadu State Government the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to be in place for conducting the Class 10 TN Board examinations. The Tamil Nadu Board class 10 examinations are scheduled to be conducted from June 15, 2020. 

A division bench comprising Justice M Sathyanarayanan and Anita Sumanth has directed the Directorate of Government Examination and Education Department Principal secretary to file a comprehensive status report or counter-affidavit either jointly or individually with the supporting documents which deal with the issues including SOP or the mechanism to be followed for conducting the remaining board examinations. 

Petition filed pointing out problems faced by students from lower strata of society

The notice has been issued by the Madras HC based on a petition from educationist Dr. V Vasanthi Devi. As per the petition, the students from the parts of a country outside an urban centre, rural and hilly areas, and the poor students will not be able to use the facilities such as online coaching since the regular school schedule is not being followed as part of the lockdown. 

As per reports, from the 9,44 lakh students who are to appear for the exams, 4.07 lakh students are from government schools while 1.38 lakh students are from the aided schools. Appromilately 91918 students belong to the partially aided private schools.

The petitioner has further stated that close to 6.38 lakh students from the state-funded schools with only basic minimum infrastructure will be at a disadvantage when compared to the other students who can afford to attend online classes conducted during the lockdown. 

The petitioner has further stated that the students belonging to the lower strata of the society are therefore not well prepared to appear for the exams. Further hearing on this will be conducted on June 11, 2020. 

The Tamil Nadu SSLC  examinations were originally slated to be conducted from June 1, 2020, before the exams were rescheduled. 

Also Read: GSEB SSC Result 2020 Likely to be Declared in June, No Official Date Available from Gujarat Board Yet