Supreme Court asks govt to respond to Gulf students’ plea that ‘grading scheme’ hurts prospects

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The Supreme Court on Wednesday (July 8, 2026) asked the Union government and CBSE to respond to a petition challenging the Board’s March 27 assessment schedule for regular XII students. classes in the Persian Gulf countries. Board exams there were canceled due to the conflict in West Asia earlier this year.

Appearing for nearly 30 regular students from the Gulf region, the counsel submitted to a bench comprising Justices KV Viswanathan and Alok Aradhe that the students have been harmed by the evaluation system. According to the petitioners, the grading scheme caused serious prejudice by basing student grading only on school-level quarterly, mid-term and pre-comm exams for papers that could not be administered.

The bench issued notice of the petition and ordered a copy to be served on the office of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and posted the matter for further hearing on 14.

Reduced aggregate marks

The petitioners, who studied in CBSE-affiliated schools in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, alleged that the retrospective application of the grading system had significantly reduced the overall marks of several students. As a result, some were placed in the departmental category, while others lost their eligibility for admission to premier institutions despite consistent academic performance.

“Historically, students show significant improvement between the pre-board assessment and the actual board exams after intensive preparation during the final months of class XII,” the petition said.

The petition, filed through advocate Vineet Jindal, challenges the rating system as “arbitrary, unreasonable and violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution”. He contends that the scheme is arbitrary and contrary to the doctrine of legitimate expectation.

The court was further informed that the consequences were particularly severe for students seeking admission to professional courses. He pointed out that Class XII marks are a crucial eligibility criterion under programs such as Direct Student Abroad Admission (DASA) and Children of Indian Workers in the Gulf (CIWG), both of which require a minimum aggregate of 75%.

Unforeseen circumstances

“Many such students are unable to meet the prescribed eligibility criteria or secure admission opportunities commensurate with their merit and JEE performance. Students who have otherwise demonstrated academic ability and successfully cleared the highly competitive national examination are denied access to higher education solely due to circumstances beyond their control,” the petition said.

The petitioners therefore sought several reliefs including one-time grant of compensatory marks of moderation or grace, special improvement examination with ‘best of two’ guarantee, creation of a transparent scrutiny mechanism, one-time relaxation of the minimum eligibility requirement under the DASA system from 75% to 60%, similar relaxation under the CIWG system already touched upon by the students and protection for the students already sought.

Under the assessment system, students whose exams were canceled were assessed based on theoretical performance and practical and internal assessment, with schools required to provide performance data from quarterly, mid-term and pre-school exams. For subjects that receive 80 or 70 points in theory, the best score obtained in the quarterly, mid-term or final pre-school examination will be considered. For subjects that have 60, 50 or 30 points in theory, the grades obtained in the final pre-table exam will be the basis of the assessment.

In the case of a student’s absence from the final pre-trial exam, the marks obtained in the earlier pre-trial exam are taken into account.

Published – 8 Jul 2026 22:45 IST