SC restrains Karnataka from declaring results of half-yearly exams of classes 8 to 10
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday pulled up the Karnataka government for "harassing" students by conducting board exams for different classes, and restrained it from declaring results of board examinations of classes 8, 9 and 10 till further orders.
A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma directed that if the exam has not been conducted in any district, then it shall not be taken.
"Why are you harassing the students? You are the state. You should not behave like this. Don't make it an ego issue. If you are really concerned about the welfare of students, then please open good schools. Don't throttle them,” the bench told senior advocate Devadatt Kamat, appearing for the Karnataka government.
The bench said no other state follows this model of education which is being followed by the Karnataka government.
Kamat said that the state government has withdrawn a circular for conducting board examinations for students of classes 5, 8, 9 and 10 in the current academic year in seven rural districts of the state.
The top court was informed that examination was conducted in 24 other districts as well.
It asked the state government to file an affidavit giving the exact details of the examination in four weeks.
The top court was hearing an appeal filed by Organisation for Unaided Recognised Schools against the March 22, judgement of the Karnataka High Court.
The high court's division bench had permitted the state government to conduct the board exams for different classes for the academic year 2023-24, overruling the March 6 order of a single judge's bench.
The single judge of the high court had nullified the state government's decision of October 2023 to hold board exams for different classes through the Karnataka State Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB).
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Marxism will remain relevant despite Left electoral's losses, says general secretary M A Baby
New Delhi (PTI): CPI(M) General Secretary M A Baby on Thursday asserted that the Left movement would remain relevant despite not being in power in any state, saying the ideology would continue to endure as long as social and economic inequalities persist.
Hitting back at BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar over his reported remarks that Marxism had become irrelevant, Baby, in an interview with PTI Videos, said, "So long as there is division in society, so long as there is exploitation of the majority of workers, peasants and ordinary masses by a handful of billionaires, Marxism will remain relevant."
"That perhaps Mr Rajeev Chandrasekhar may not be able to understand, but this is the fact of the matter," he said.
Baby acknowledged that the CPI(M)-led Left was currently without an elected government in any state, but maintained that electoral setbacks would not diminish the movement's role.
"We may not have an elected government in any state. There were occasions when we didn't have a government. But the red flag and the commitment to organise and struggle for the rights of the dispossessed, marginalised and exploited will always be upheld by CPI(M) and the Left movement," he said.
He said the Left continued to enjoy support among workers, peasants, agricultural labourers, youth, students and women, and argued that the movement remained necessary because "oppression and assault" continued in society.
"So long as such problems exist in society, the red flag and the working class movement will continue to work among the masses," the Left leader said.
Exuding confidence on the Left's revival, Baby said the party would reflect on the reasons behind its electoral loss.
"We may be rejected in one election, but we will stage our comeback by understanding what went wrong with us," he said, adding, "We will listen to people and we will come back with higher strength."
Baby also criticised the Congress over reported factional tensions in Kerala after the Congress-led United Democratic Front's victory in the state.
"The way they are behaving is being watched by the people of Kerala," he said, referring to infighting within the Congress.
"Those who have given a massive majority to Congress and UDF would be watching all this," he added, while urging party leaders to "settle the problem in an amicable, democratic manner".
Referring to West Bengal, Baby alleged that violence had escalated following the BJP's victory in the state assembly polls.
"It is quite unfortunate that the moment BJP snatched a massive victory in West Bengal, violence has also started on a big scale," he said.
He also accused the Trinamool Congress of being "notorious for violent activities" and alleged that the "RSS-controlled BJP" had "unleashed violence in many places" after the election results.
"This is not good for Bengal, not good for the country. We wish and hope that normalcy would be restored as soon as possible," he said.
Baby said the CPI(M) and the Left in West Bengal would continue efforts to "pacify people" and avoid violence and confrontation.
Asked about former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan not reacting publicly to the election results, Baby said Vijayan would respond "at an appropriate time".
