New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought the stand of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking permission for Class XII students to use basic, non-programmable calculators in their board examinations, particularly in Accountancy.
Issuing notice, a Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice (ACJ) Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Sanjay Sharma sought responses from the Union Ministry of Education, the CBSE, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and PARAKH (National Assessment Centre).
The notice is returnable within six weeks.
The High Court listed the matter for further hearing on January 27, 2027, after CBSE sought time to obtain instructions on the issue.
The PIL, filed through advocate Nitin Mangla, seeks directions to permit the use of basic, non-programmable calculators in Class XII Accountancy examinations and, following an expert review, extend the facility to Mathematics as well.
During the hearing, counsel for the petitioners submitted that CBSE had not taken any definitive stand on the proposal, despite its own expert committee having recommended the use of calculators.
Counsel appearing for CBSE told the ACJ Sambre-led Bench that the Board offers 204 subjects and calculations are involved in several of them, not just Accountancy. Any decision to permit calculators would require recommendations from an expert committee on the subjects concerned as well as the logistical aspects of conducting examinations with calculators, the counsel submitted.
The CBSE’s counsel further said that the decision on examination rules rests with its examination committee, whereas the recommendation relied upon by the petitioners had originated from the curriculum committee, and sought time to obtain instructions.
The petition contends that CBSE’s Curriculum Committee, at its 70th meeting held on November 25-26, 2024, had approved a proposal to permit basic, non-programmable calculators in the Class XII Accountancy examination, recording that the existing restriction imposed an unnecessary “cognitive load” on students.
The recommendation was subsequently placed before CBSE’s Governing Body at its 140th meeting on December 26, 2024. However, the proposal has neither been notified nor implemented, nor has any reason been communicated for the delay, the plea stated.
The petitioners have argued that permitting calculators would be consistent with the objectives of the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, which seeks to move away from rote memorisation towards competency-based learning and assessment. The plea also seeks extension of the existing calculator facility, presently available to students with Dyscalculia under a CBSE circular issued in January 2020, to other categories of students with disabilities. It contends that the continued restriction, despite the recommendation of CBSE’s own expert body, is arbitrary and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution.
(IANS)
