The Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exam began on Tuesday with at least 16 lakh students appearing from across Maharashtra. Mumbai division alone has 3,73,840 students. Amid all the stress, as the exam is being held after a year's gap due to the pandemic, it was a smooth start for the exam which will continue till April 4. Against the backdrop of two cases of copying during the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) exam where images of question papers went viral on WhatsApp, all schools were instructed to not allow late entry to exam hall. “We did not receive any call from an exam centre, which indicates all students arrived on time,” said Subhash Borse, secretary of the Mumbai Division of Maharashtra State Board, adding that schools were also asked to check the use of mobile phone inside exam hall as it is not allowed. Meanwhile, the board did help students with genuine requests. Kajal Chavan, a student of Karmaveer Madhyamik Vidyalay in Juchandra village in Vasai Taluka was able to appear for the SSC exam in Jalna district's Mantha Taluka. Kajal's family went to their native place – Hiverkheda village in Jalna district – following her brother's death this Monday. "Her school teacher told us about this policy that enables her to request the state board to appear for the exam in a nearby exam centre. She is a bright student, and her teacher believed she should not miss out on the exams. On Tuesday, we reached a nearby exam centre at 10am . While I explained the case to the exam centre head, her school principal spoke to the Mumbai Division board head,” said Amol Rathod, Kajal's uncle with whom the family is currently staying. “After verifying that the request was genuine, I spoke to the Chairman of the Maharashtra state board and also the head of the Aurangabad divisional head of state board to make the necessary arrangements. The state board was happy to help a bright candidate appear for the exam amid a family crisis," said Borse.
