A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court of India by the students of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) Class 10, 12 exams. The students are against offline-only mode for Class 10 and Class 12 term 1 exams and seek direction to hold the term 1 exams in hybrid mode - a mix of both online and offline.

The CISCE which conducts the ICSE Class 10th and ISC Class 12th annual exams, will begin the term 1 exams from November 15, while CBSE term 1 exams will start with exams for minor papers from November 16.

“Exams for major subjects in December 2021 are spread over three weeks, placing the petitioners in great apprehension on the risk of infection and the impact on subsequent exams. Preceding the exams for major subjects in December 2021 are the exams for Minor subjects in November 2021 in physical mode, further aggravating the likelihood of turning the exams for Major subjects into a Super Spreader Event,” the plea said.

The plea filed by six students through Advocate Sumanth Nookala says that continuous exposure through offline exams will "sharply" increase the risk of Covid infection and it is a violation of Right to Health.

“At any rate, such continuous exposure through offline exams sharply increases the risk of infection to Covid 19 rendering the impugned action as arbitrary and in violation of Right to Health,” the plea said.

The option of online exams, the plea added will facilitate social distancing, and will reduce strain on logistical constraints.

The petitioners also have argued that taking students’ consent to conduct exams without giving a valid choice is not right and should not happen. “Many students have reported that consent is being secured by resorting to misrepresentation and coercion,” the plea added.