Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered permanent cancellation of the recognition of exam centres in cases of mass cheating in ongoing HSC and later, SSC exams. The Chief Minister also ordered suspension of teachers found assisting students in cheating during the examination. The twin decisions were taken during the Cabinet meeting held in Mumbai, on Tuesday.

 

The exams for Class XII of State Board started on Tuesday at 3,373 examination centres, while that of Class X are set to begin from February 21 at 5,130 centres. Chief Minister reviewed the preparation for the examination with District Collectors and Police officers in the presence of Eknath Shinde, Ajit Pawar, Deputy Chief Ministers; and other ministers in State Cabinet. Fadnavis, while interacting with district authorities, instructed that Section 153 of Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) should be enforced strictly; entry of unauthorised personnel within 100 metres of examination to be completely prohibited; ensuring students do not enter examination centre with any material aiding cheating (books, notes, mobiles, etc.); ensuring copy-free examination through rigorous checks on the part of vigilance teams.

 

Special Teams at exam centres: Fadnavis also ordered constitution of special teams that will be deployed at all examination centres through District Collectors to monitor accurate conduct of the examinations. The teams shall reach the examination centre one hour before start of the exam and oversee the procedures till handing over of answersheets to the custodian. Senior officials will be part of these special teams at sensitive examination centres. Drone Surveillance on Sensitive centres: Chief Minister also instructed the authorities to pay special attention to sensitive examination centres and use new technologies like Drone and video cameras for surveillance against any malpractice. All centres of all tehsils must have sufficient protection, special teams, Drone and video camera, instructed Fadnavis.

 

He also ordered that District Collector should appoint a Department Head or Deputy Collector for each tehsil. The onus of holding copy-free examination is a collective responsibility of District Collector, Commissioner of Police, and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in the rural areas. Municipal Commissioner and Commissioner of Police will be jointly responsible in urban areas. He also ordered that District Collector, Commissioner of Police, and CEO should personally visit sensitive centres on days of examination of subjects like English, Mathematics and Science.