Anti-copying campaign launched in Maharashtra: Now, no question paper 10 minutes ahead of board exams

Students appearing for the Maharashtra state board exams next week will now have to be seated in their exam hall half an hour before the scheduled time. Also, they will no longer be given question papers 10 minutes in advance.

Other measures listed in the campaign include not allowing photocopy shops to remain open in and around exam centres, holding awareness campaigns about the consequences of getting caught while copying etc.

There will be police security at exam centres, and students will be checked at the time of entering the exam centre. Flying squads with officials from the revenue department will pay surprise visits at exam centres.

Even as most of the measures listed in this campaign are a regular practice during board exams, the state board has taken a strong stand this year.

While the HSC exam will be held from February 21 to March 21, the SSC exam will be held from March 2 to March 25.

To emphasise the requirement and effectiveness of such a campaign, a report was presented in the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, citing the impact of an anti-copying campaign in Nanded district. According to the report, in 2009, Nanded district recorded a pass percentage of 90 per cent and 80 per cent in SSC and HSC, respectively. It was 87 per cent and 92 per cent, for SSC and HSC, respectively, in 2008. But after a campaign against copying was implemented in Nanded, the pass percentage in both SSC and HSC dropped drastically to 31 per cent and 25 per cent in 2010.

Apart from a list of a few measures taken up in this district, the presentation also included a list of sensitive areas in Nanded where the vigilance was upped. Explaining this, a board official said, “Sensitive areas are those where noteworthy malpractices have been noticed regularly. Each division has a list of such areas to ensure better security in exam centres falling in those areas. Apart from stationary security at these centres, surprise visits to such exam centres by the flying squad against copying (will also be carried out).”