Supreme Court refuses to direct CBSE, CISCE to provide hybrid mode option for board exams
New Delhi(PTI): The Supreme Court Thursday refused to direct the CBSE and the CISCE to provide option of hybrid mode, instead of only offline mode, to the students for appearing in class 10 and 12 board examinations, saying it would not be appropriate to disturb the process at this stage.
The apex court noted that term one board exams of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) have already commenced from November 16, while semester one of board exams of the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) are to commence from November 22.
A bench comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and C T Ravikumar was informed by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was representing the CBSE, that all precautions have been taken for conducting the board exams in offline mode and the number of examination centres have been increased from 6,500 to 15,000.
The bench said it hope and trust that authorities will take all precautions and measures to ensure that no one is exposed to anything untoward in the examination process.
The top court was hearing a plea by six students seeking directions to the CBSE and the CISCE to issue a revised circular for conducting the ensuing class 10 and 12 board exams in the hybrid mode, instead of the offline mode only, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the hearing, senior advocate Sanjay Hegde, appearing for the petitioners, told the bench that this is not adversarial and they are only requesting that option of hybrid mode be also provided to the students to appear in the board examinations.
Hegde said as per the experts, there is possibility of spread of virus at a place of congregation.
Mehta said there are around 34 lakh students who would be appearing in the classes 10 and 12 board examinations.
The exams (of CBSE) have already started on November 16, Mehta said, adding that the authorities have taken care of the concern raised about possibility of spread of the virus.
Let us be very practical about it. The examinations have already started. How can it be made online now, the bench asked Hegde.
The senior advocate said that COVID-19 is an evolving situation and the students should be given the option of appearing in the board examinations through hybrid mode.
It is too late now. It cannot be rescheduled at this stage. Examinations have started, the bench observed.
The plea, seeking a hybrid option in the ensuing board examination, had claimed that the entire exercise of the boards in conducting the term one or semester one examinations in offline mode only is patently unreasonable .
The petition, filed through advocate Sumanth Nookala, had said that the board exams be conducted in hybrid mode with an option to choose between offline and online examinations.
Consent assumes significance as exams directly relate to the mental health of the petitioners requiring a conducive and voluntary atmosphere to ensure a fair assessment. It is common knowledge that the third wave of COVID pandemic is predicted, it had said.
The petition had claimed that the proposed current system of offline examination is fraught with bad planning and lack of application of mind which will further adversely prejudice the students.
Even if the respondents (boards and others) wanted to conduct the examinations on the said dates, it had sufficient time and resources to plan it carefully and consider the concerns raised in the present petition, it had said.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
