The Maharashtra State Board Secondary and Higher Secondary Education on Friday withdrew the practice of handing out question papers to students 10 minutes before exams started.
This comes after it recorded instances where images of question papers went viral on social media from the cellphones of students and others just a few minutes before the exam was scheduled to begin.
Till now, students were given question papers 10 minutes before the state board exam began. The practice was introduced a few years ago to address the tremendous stress students feel at the beginning of exams. 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.
