Class VI students check Class X papers? Maharashtra Board to re-evaluate

KOLHAPUR: The Kolhapur division of the Maharashtra State Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board has written to the Satara education department, requesting an inquiry into a viral social media video that allegedly showed two Std VI students from a school in Vidni village, Phaltan tehsil, evaluating Std X Marathi board exam answer sheets.



According to the preliminary report submitted by a three-member committee of the Satara education department, the children were not evaluating the answer sheets, but merely drawing lines on the blank sections of answer sheets. Despite this finding, the board has decided to send officials from Kolhapur to verify unanswered questions, including whether the children were indeed those of Std VI, as claimed, and whether the teacher shown in the video had been authorised for board paper evaluation. Statements will be recorded on Friday.

"The Marathi exam for Std X was conducted on Feb 10. The answer sheets were dispatched to the teachers assigned to evaluate them, and delivery takes five days. The preliminary inquiry indicates that the children in the video were drawing red lines on portions of the answer sheet left unused by students. These lines are meant to prevent cheating, as blank spaces could later be used to add answers if a student gains access to the sheet after the exam. Each answer booklet has 28 pages, and not every student uses all of them," Subhash Chougule, secretary of the Kolhapur division, covering Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara districts, said.

The inquiry also revealed that a non-teaching staff member recorded the video, which was later circulated widely. The teacher in the footage teaches Marathi in the school. "We have found CCTV (closed-circuit television camera) footage from the classroom. The team visiting the school will collect and analyse it to verify the claims," Chougule said.