After Supreme Court in an interim order stayed the Kerala government’s decision to hold the Class XI exam physically from September 6, Education Minister V Sivankutty on Friday said that the government will move further in accordance with Supreme Court’s final order.

Speaking to the media, Sivankutty said, “We successfully conducted SSLC and higher secondary exams with over 42,000. For class 11th, around 4.5 lakh students will appear. Based on this experience, we had decided to conduct Class XI exams. We will move further in accordance with Supreme Court’s final order.”

“The Supreme Court has sought a detailed report on the preparation to conduct the 1 (class XI) examination and on what grounds has the decision been taken. We will submit the report before September 13,” he added.

A bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar said that situation in Kerala is alarming because of the continuing rise in COVID-19 cases and children of tender age cannot be exposed to risk while noting that around 35,000 cases are being reported daily from the state.

The class XI (Plus One) exam was scheduled to be conducted from September 6. The Bench observed, “There is an alarming situation in Kerala. It accounts for more than 70 per cent of cases of the country, with around 35,000 daily cases. Children of tender age can’t be exposed to risk.”

The High Court’s order had come on the plea of some students who had approached the court against the Kerala government decision to hold the Class XI exam offline. They had said that the decision was taken without considering the gravity of the COVID-19 pandemic situation prevalent in the State.