Supreme Court rejects plea challenging CBSE assessment scheme for Gulf students

The Supreme Court has declined to interfere with CBSE's special assessment scheme for Class 12 students in Gulf countries whose Board examinations were cancelled because of the war situation in West Asia.A Bench of Justice MM Sundresh and Justice Prasanna B Varale disposed of a batch of petitions challenging the assessment method adopted by CBSE for the 2025–26 academic session.The students had sought permission to appear for their cancelled examinations alongside those taking compartment examinations. The court, however, did not accept the request.At the same time, the Bench recorded CBSE's assurance that affected students would be given an opportunity to take a fresh examination at the earliest feasible time. WHY STUDENTS CHALLENGED THE MARKSThe petitions were filed by students from CBSE-affiliated schools in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain.After several Board papers were cancelled because of security concerns, CBSE notified a special assessment scheme on March 27. Under it, marks for cancelled subjects were calculated using school-level assessments, including quarterly, half-yearly and pre-board examinations. Students argued that this method could disadvantage those who had performed strongly in their regular Board preparations but received lower marks in school examinations.The issue became particularly serious for students seeking higher education. The petitioners said some students who had qualified in JEE Main were still unable to meet eligibility requirements for admission under schemes such as Direct Admission of Students Abroad and Children of Indian Workers in Gulf Countries, which require a minimum aggregate of 75 per cent.Some students were also allegedly declared failed or placed in the compartment category despite having a consistent academic record.CBSE PROMISES ANOTHER CHANCECBSE told the court that its assessment scheme was introduced in good faith to ensure students received results despite the cancellation of examinations. The Board also said its policy allowed dissatisfied students to take a further examination once conditions became suitable.Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that CBSE was prepared to facilitate provisional admissions, expedited re-evaluation and verification, besides conducting a special examination when feasible.The measures, he noted, would need to cover around 23,052 similarly placed candidates, not just the petitioners.The court also considered an earlier suggestion that the time needed for the next examination could potentially be reduced from 82 days to 70 days. It left the decision on whether this was practically possible to the authorities.In its July 30 order, uploaded on August 12, the Bench said the petitions were being disposed of to ensure the students could compete in the next examination at the earliest and pursue higher studies next year.- EndsPublished By: Princy ShuklaPublished On: Aug 13, 2026 16:50 IST