The Supreme Court on Monday issued an order withholding the declaration of half-yearly exam results for classes 8, 9, and 10 in Karnataka until further notice.

A division bench comprising Justices Bela M. Trivedi and S.C. Sharma issued the directive while hearing a petition challenging the state’s decision to conduct board exams for classes 5, 8, 9, and 11 in KSEAB-affiliated schools. The court’s directive followed after one of the counsel informed the court about the half-yearly board exam for Class 10.

Expressing surprise, the court noted that no other states conduct such exams and referred to the practice as an “ego issue” for the state, emphasizing that only annual board exams should be held.

In response, the Karnataka government said that it would submit an affidavit explaining that the exams were introduced due to declining student performance.

Earlier, the Karnataka government had informed the court that the notification for board exams for classes 5, 8, 9, and 11 had been withdrawn. However, advocate K.V. Dhananjay argued that the withdrawal had not been fully implemented, leaving Class 10 exams unaffected.

The court also criticized the state for the distress caused to students by these changes.