Punjab and Haryana high court grants relief, 9 who missed CBSE exams to take Class 10 Haryana boards

Gurgaon: Punjab and Haryana high court has granted partial relief to nine Class 10 students, who had missed CBSE examinations.Parents of nine students — out of a total 11, who had missed the examinations — had approached the HC on Feb 19. On Monday, the HC enabled them to take the Haryana board examination starting from Feb 26 instead of CBSE exams, following which the state board has agreed to issue them the admit cards. The Class 10 students had earlier missed their CBSE examinations after the school failed to provide admit cards amid an affiliation dispute.
The students will now appear under Board of School Education Haryana instead of CBSE, despite the fact that they prepared for the CBSE syllabus throughout the year.The court on Feb 20 asked the state board to come up with clear instructions on the next date of hearing — Feb 23 — as to how the provisional admit card for the students could be issued for appearing in the Class 10 examination. Following the court orders, the counsel for the petitioners informed the court that the petitioners filled up the necessary forms and also deposited the requisite fee.The counsel, however, also informed the court that there are two more students who neither joined the petitioners in the instant writ petition nor came up to carry out the necessary formalities, but their academic career was also at stake.On the other hand, Vasundhra Asija Bhandari, counsel for Haryana board, informed the court that admit cards would be issued to the petitioners by Tuesday (Feb 24) and they will be allowed to take the examinations, which are scheduled from Feb 26.Informing about the two remaining students, she contended that, in case they fill up their forms and deposit the requisite fee by Tuesday, their claim would also be considered by the Haryana board positively, as expeditiously as possible. "In view of the above, no further direction is required to be passed and the proceedings are closed," the court said, while appreciating the counsel for the state board to resolve the issue "amicably". Parents said they are left with no other options as CBSE affiliation was not granted to the school. They were also directed to deposit the prescribed board examination fee along with a penalty amount for the issuance of the Haryana board admit cards.One of the parents said, "Our primary concern is to receive the physical admit cards, which the board said will possibly be handed over to us by Wednesday. We just want to ensure that our children's academic year does not go to waste." He added that while the core subjects remain similar, the change in exam patterns and specific board requirements poses a significant challenge for students accustomed to the CBSE format.