Sharad Gosavi, the Chairman of the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE), issued a stern warning to schools regarding the unreasonable deprivation of students from taking HSC and SSC board exams due to outstanding fees.
He firmly said schools that threaten students by not allowing them to take board exams until their fees are paid must immediately stop such actions.
Gosavi has warned schools about the penalty they may face if found guilty of withholding hall tickets or stopping students from presenting for exams. He said that no student can be denied the opportunity to take the state board examination because of unpaid fees. They have recently received two complaints regarding this issue, and the right action will be taken against those institutes. He said that he instructed associated education officers and district education officers to immediately send hall tickets to the students and take necessary action against the schools.
The matter came to light on February 19 when Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthi Sena workers vandalised the JSPM School office in Lonikand-Wagholi, Pune, when the school declined to provide a student with an HSC board exam hall ticket due to unpaid fees.
An official from the Mumbai division of MSBSHSE said that resolving issues related to non-payment of fees can be addressed through alternative means. Schools are not allowed to scare students and their parents about the board examinations. Similar incidents were reported last year, too. Fortunately, students did not lose a year because MSBSHSE was able to provide hall passes to the schools at the last minute. Any school that refuses to provide students with their hall passes, keeps them from showing up for exams, or makes threats to do so will be held accountable, the official said.
About 31 lakh students are expected to take the board exams this year in Maharashtra. The state board has put in place strong safeguards to stop cheating, impersonation, and the spread of leaked papers on social media to guarantee a secure and fair exam procedure.
The SSC examinations will start on March 1, and the HSC exams on February 21.
Gosavi said that 15,13,909 students in all will take the Maharashtra HSC examination this year, which is 56,616 more than in 2023. 1,457,293 students took the test the year before.
There will be two shifts for the Maharashtra Board Class 12 examinations. The evening shift will run from 3 pm to 5:10 pm, while the morning shift will begin at 11 am and end at 2:10 pm.
The 10 minutes to read the question paper will no longer be given to the students by the Maharashtra board. At the end of the exam, students will now have an additional ten minutes to solve the question paper.
Gosavi said that examiners are stationed at examination centres as part of the measures put in place to prevent malpractices during the examination. Teams assigned by the administrations of revenue and police are in charge of maintaining the integrity of the examination process.
Share
Tweet
