Not allowing unvaccinated students to appear for exams discriminatory: Varsha Gaikwad on CISCE guidelines

Maharashtra Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad said in a Tweet that not allowing unvaccinated students to appear in CISCE examinations would be discriminatory.

The Council of Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE) has made Covid-19 vaccination mandatory for the students who will appear for the ISCE Classes 10 and 12 board examinations for the current academic year. As per the released schedule, the exams are scheduled to be held from April 25, 2022.

The mandatory Covid-19 vaccine guidelines have raised concerns among students who are yet to be vaccinated, as they might not appear in their respective ISCE and ISC.

While vaccines are a life saver against Covid not allowing unvaccinated students to take exams will be discriminatory. I would therefore urge the CISCE and the @EduMinofIndia toissue an urgent clarification in this regard. My office has already contacted the CISCE on the matter

Some schools are citing it saying that unvaccinated students will not be permitted to sit for the exams. This despite the Centre's affidavit in the Supreme Court that vaccines aren't mandatory.

Some students of the ISCE board have reached out to me regarding an advisory, dated Jan 4, 2022, issued by theCISCE, mandating Covid vaccination for all those appearing for the ISCE and ISC exams starting April 25th.