The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a plea seeking the option to take the ongoing school board exams online as well as at the examination centres, Bar and Bench reported.

Six students from the Central Board of Secondary Education and Indian Certificate of Secondary Education had filed the petition.

A bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and CT Ravikumar said since 34 lakh students are already taking the exam, changing its mode would create difficulties, the Hindustan Times reported.

“Exams are going on,” the court said, according to Bar and Bench. “Let us be practical. Now how can it made be online? Now they have to install it. It is too late now and exams cannot be rescheduled.”

The term one exam for Class 10 students affiliated to both the education boards started on November 16. The semester one exam for Class 12 students will start on November 22.

“Don’t mess up the education system,” the court said. “Let the authorities continue their work.”

The six students in their petition had stated that the government’s coronavirus guidelines had called for blended education, which includes online and offline classes. The students argued that offline exams flouted the regulations.

However, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on Thursday contested the claim saying that concerns related to Covid-19 had mitigated.

“Earlier 40 students sat in class but now only 12 students will be sitting in class so that there is social distancing,” he said. “Number of exam centres has been increased to 15,000.”