Karnataka High Court has ruled that the state government is directing the state to award marks (the SSLC Hindi exam for the 2025–26 academic year), not grades, in a big step affecting thousands of students.
The decree was followed by a court ruling to dismiss a petition previously directed by the state government to the appeal court for an order revising the state government's order earlier. Due to too many students not passing the paper, the government had suggested switching to a grading system instead of marks for the Hindi subject.
But this was unequivocally rejected by the court, which stressed that it must set the requirement for that change in advance. The bench, which is led by Justice E.S. Indiresh, questioned the timing and legality of the government’s stance. The SSLC examination notification had not spoken about a move from marks to grades in Hindi, the court emphasised.
These sorts of things were inappropriate and unfair to students once they had started or completed the examination process. Advocates for the state, Shashikiran Shetty, argued that the grading system was designed to ease students' workload. More than one lakh students had failed the subject in Hindi, he noted, and called on the government to explore other ways to assess them, to avoid distress in students.
However, the court argued that changes to the evaluation systems needed to take place in full transparency and in advance. “If the aim is passing all, the examination could be suspended outright,” the bench said, emphasising the necessity of upholding academic quality and procedural propriety.
The court also observed that in PUC exams, the pass percentage is quite high, about 83%; thus, to initiate changes in assessment, they have to be considered in conjunction with the rest of the process. The High Court expressly stated in its ruling that for all students currently enrolled in the current academic year (2025–26), the marks for the Hindi subject should be awarded as it is currently distributed.
However, it also allowed the government, if proper rules are set up and notified in advance, to apply a grade system in subsequent years. It stated that if an applicant applies for a grading system in the succeeding academic years, the government is free to formulate new regulations with the appropriate amendments.
Thus, leaving the notified evaluation pattern unfixed until then would continue to be impossible to legally sustain. A previous Public Interest Litigation (PIL) commenced in this regard was dismissed by a division bench of the High Court as well, reaffirming that clarity in procedures and fairness in academic matters is paramount.
The ruling will bring relief and clarity to students who had appeared for the SSLC examinations but had worried about how their Hindi content was being evaluated. It is also an example to authorities about the need for consistency of education policies and need for transparency.
