Late-comers not allowed in exam halls, Maharashtra tightens rules after cheating cases surface

Maharashtra is implementing stricter rules for HSC and SSC exams this year, so much so that students reporting to examination centres late will be turned away, irrespective of the reasons. Until now, students reporting to exam centres 10 to 20 minutes late were allowed to sit for the exams after getting a nod from the State Board officials.

The Board, on March 15, announced that students will not get entry into exam centres after 10:30 am and 3 pm — when written exams begin. While the SSC exams began on the same day as the announcement, the HSC exams began on March 4.

Board officials said malpractices found during the ongoing HSC exams were mostly by students reporting late to examination centres, The Times of India reported. Students reporting late to exam centres were found with screenshots of answers to exam questions on their cellphones. No case of cheating was reported on March 15 from across the nine divisions in both HSC and SSC exams. Board officials attributed it to increased vigilance in schools and colleges.

The Board said students have to be in the examination centre at least one hour before the exams. The exams are held in two slots of 10:30 am to 2 pm and 3 pm to 6:30 pm. Students have to be in their allotted classrooms by 10:20 am or 2.50 pm, when question papers are distributed for reading.

In case a student reports to an exam centre between 10:20 am and 10:30 am, they will be considered for writing the paper if the reason for the delay was unavoidable. The consent of the divisional board will be needed to allow such students to write their papers. 

The Board has warned schools of stern action if question papers are circulated on social media platforms of students during the exams. Portions of the HSC Chemistry and Mathematics question papers were found circulating on social media apps on students' cellphones while the exams were in progress on March 12 and March 14. Over 16 lakh students, including 7 lakh girls, across nine divisions in the state, appeared for their first language paper on March 15.