The Maharashtra State Board Secondary and Higher Secondary Education has withdrawn the decision to distribute question papers for the board exams 10 minutes before the scheduled time from this year.
Students will receive question papers at 11am (instead of 10.50am) for the morning session and at 3pm (rather than 2.50pm) for the afternoon session.
Anuradha Oak, secretary of the board, said, This decision came out of a meeting between education and police officials. We have noticed some incidents in the last four to five years, such as rumours of question papers going viral on mobile phones. As this exam is an important phase in the life of a student, parents and society keep a close eye on this exam. Such rumours cause consternation among the examinees. She also added,
The state board, in a notification, said the practice will be discontinued in the board exams to be held in February and March. In an order to conduct exams free of malpractices and stress, the state board had announced a new campaign against copying.
A few days ago, it declared that students have to reach the exam hall 30 minutes before the exam began. Additionally, the person responsible for carrying question papers to exam centres will be tracked with GPRS system.