Nagpur education board fortifies campus with multi-layer security

Nagpur: Till about a month ago, the sprawling campus of Nagpur Divisional Education Board in Civil Lines was a free-for-all, with people walking in unchecked and loitering in corridors with no one to question them. "People would park their vehicles here because we have a lot of space, and then just wander off to some other place," said divisional board chairman Shivling Patve. "This office houses extremely sensitive and confidential documents and in such cases we cannot have unchecked movement of people anymore," he added.The teacher hiring scam, popularly called Shalarth ID scam which rocked the entire state, originated from Nagpur. Its links reached even the board office, even though it is not directly connected with hiring of teachers. In fact, a very senior board official from the Nagpur office was arrested for his alleged involvement in the scam.
On Wednesday, TOI was given an exclusive tour of the building which has now restricted visitor access by putting in multiple layers of security. "This annexe building is where all the Class 12 question papers are stored," said Patve, pointing to an entry point heavily guarded by board's own security personnel apart from Nagpur police. "As you can see nobody can go in there without proper identification, authorization letter and even after that, the person is checked thoroughly on entry and exit," said Patve.Pointing to an ID card pinned on his shirt pocket, Patve said, "Now nobody is allowed to move around the building without some form of identification. For those who are employees, our ID cards have to be visible. For those who are visiting for official purpose, a card is issued to them."The first security check now happens at the board office's main gate itself. Uniformed security personnel note down vehicle registration number, purpose of visit and record visitor details. After that at the building's entrance a second security check happens. Patve said, "Here we issue a visitor card but again the details have to be recorded, which includes their name, number, in and out timing."Earlier the office building had more than one entry point, but now those doors have been locked down. Patve said, "Inside we have strong rooms which store blank answer sheets and other confidential documents, and secured with access given to only a select few. This way there is always a track of accountability. Rooms marked ‘gopaniya' (confidential) are now visible and entry points secured with grill gates. Patve said, "Here even a scrap of paper cannot be discarded, as it's confidential. A proper protocol has to be followed."The board's security revamp comes as part of a wider mission to curb malpractices at all levels. After the Shalarth ID scam, school education minister Dadaji Bhuse and MoS Pankaj Bhoyar have been cracking the whip at every level and tightening loose ends. Their campaign is being aided by state education commissioner Sachindra Singh, whose no-nonsense attitude and out-of-the-box thinking has led to some major changes in the department.Patve said, "Under their guidance, the anti-malpractice campaign has brought together all stakeholders including principals, parents, teachers and our employees. For the last one year we have been sensitizing at school level that students must not be afraid of failure and take wrong steps during exam (copying) or later after results. A very comprehensive campaign was run to teach them that there is a second chance available even if they fail."