BENGALURU: The state government argued before the Karnataka High Court that the petitioners -- the private unaided schools -- who have challenged its decision to conduct board exams for Classes 5, 8 and 9, have a vested interest.
The state argued that certain unaided private schools affiliated with petitioners’ organisations don’t even teach the syllabus prescribed by the state. The students in these schools are not even able to answer questions asked during the inspection. Moreover, neither the parents nor the students have challenged the government’s decision to conduct the board examinations, which shows the vested interest of the petitioners, the state government told the court.
Additional Advocate General Vikram Huilgol made these submissions before the division bench of Justice K Somashekar and Justice Rajesh Rai K, during the hearing of the appeal filed by the state government, questioning the order dated March 6, passed by the single judge bench, quashing the state government’s decision to conduct board exams for Class 5, 8, 9 and 11 in schools affiliated to the Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB).
The single judge quashed the state’s decision by allowing the petition filed by the Registered Unaided Private Schools Management Association Karnataka and the Organisation For Unaided Recognised Schools, questioning the legality of the government’s decision.
Against this order, the appeals were filed by the state government before the division bench, which permitted the state to conduct board exams as per the schedule, from March 11, by staying the single judge’s order, on March 7. Thereafter, Registered Unaided Private Schools Management Association Karnataka, a petitioner, approached the Supreme Court, by filing a special leave petition against the division bench’s interim order.
On March 12, observing that the division bench should not have permitted the state government to proceed further with the examination since the state government’s decision had already been set aside by a single judge, the Supreme Court set aside the interim order of the division bench, and directed the division bench to decide the appeals on merit. Therefore, the division bench took up the appeals for hearing on Wednesday. Further hearing will be continued on Thursday.