MUMBAI: Even as Mumbai reported zero cases of copying on the first day of the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) board examination, 42 cases were reported from across the state on the first day. Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division reported over 50% of these cases. The board exams commenced with the English language, and no other serious issues regarding the conduct of the exam were reported.
The Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, this year, took extra efforts to ensure that the exams were conducted in a fair manner. The ‘Copy Mukt Abhiyan’ during this year’s board exams was included in Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s 100-day plan for the school education department.
Among the reported copying cases, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar had 26, followed by Pune with eight and three in Nashik. Mumbai, Kolhapur, and Konkan division did not report a single case on Tuesday, the state board’s Chairman Sharad Gosavi said.
Over 15 lakh students across the state appeared for the examination in science, commerce, and arts subjects. In Mumbai alone, 3.4 lakh students are taking the exams, with the highest registration recorded for commerce, followed by science. The state board rolled out drone surveillance, CCTV monitoring, and a sensitisation drive among students about the detrimental effects of malpractices to ensure a copying-free examination. In the Mumbai division, comprising six districts, exams were held at 670 centres. Mumbai Divisional Board Chairman, Rajendra Ahire, said that the exams were conducted in a smooth manner across the centres.
Counsellors from Mumbai that TOI spoke to mentioned that there were only small queries from students who asked about the things they were allowed to carry. At one of the centres, a student complained that a writing pad was not allowed, said a counsellor, adding that the centre was informed that transparent pads can be allowed.
For the first time, the examination is being conducted 10 days in advance compared to previous years so that the results can be announced early, and students can apply for admissions on time for various courses.
The state board is conducting the examinations in nine divisions, including Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, Kolhapur, Konkan, Latur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, and Amravati.
The Mumbai division has 15 sensitive centres, of which over 50% are from Palghar, where additional measures have been taken to bring down copying cases. The state board changed 818 exam centres this year, with the maximum (205) from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, as copying cases were reported from these centres in the last five years.