Over 16L students across Maharashtra set to appear for SSC exams from tomorrow

Pune: Over 16 lakh Std X students are set to appear for the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations from Feb 20 to March 18 this year at 5,111 centres across the state. Nandkumar Bedse, acting chairman of the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE), told the media on Wednesday that last year, 93 individual copying cases were detected during the SSC exam and 226 other malpractice cases were confirmed over the entire exam period, including the evaluation process.
"This year, all except 544 examination centres will be under CCTV camera surveillance. We identified 191 sensitive centres, of which 42 lacked CCTV camera coverage. To prevent malpractice at these centres, we replaced the invigilating staff with teachers from other schools," he said, adding that the board also cancelled 31 exam centres from last year. Students need to report at their exam centre 30 minutes before the paper. The first session will be held from 10.30am onwards, while the other will be from 2.30pm onwards. Students will get 10 minutes extra in all exams. Compared to last year, 3,879 more students have registered for the examination. Bedse further highlighted that all measures are being taken to curb cheating and ensure a fair exam by the board, from sitting squads to flying squads. Action will be taken against anyone found indulging in cheating or helping students cheat as per the Maharashtra Prevention of Malpractices Act of 1982, he said. Digital evaluation being studied Bedse said the board is studying how the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) adopts a digital evaluation system. It will look at state-specific issues and then decide on whether to adopt the digital evaluation system, or parts of it, in the near future. "This is definitely not for the upcoming exam; the evaluation will happen conventionally. However, the state board also needs to change with time, and technology is changing daily. But we need to look at the economics of the move before any decision," he said. HSC exams: 39 teachers suspended At least 39 teachers were suspended across the state as of Wednesday evening for their alleged involvement in malpractices during the ongoing Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) exam for Std XII students, which began on Feb 10. Bedse informed, "These include 21 in Kannad taluka of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, 12 in Chousala village of Beed, and six in Jalna district. There was an incident of mass copying in Washim, where 27 teachers were involved. An FIR was lodged and we are in the process of suspending them too. The board is also looking at why CCTV cameras of an exam centre in Basmath, Hingoli, were not working for some time, as there was no electricity-related issue in the area at the time. We suspended the centre head, and a committee is looking into this," said Bedse. Suspension of teachers can last anywhere between three months and a year, and action is taken depending on the severity of the malpractice, he said. On action against students, Bedse said that committees are formed by respective divisions to individually evaluate each of the answer sheets and identify students involved in mass copying, after which action will be taken against them. At least 109 individual cases of cheating by students (excluding mass copying) were detected during the ongoing HSC exams. ---- Std X students registered to appear for SSC exams across Maharashtra for 2025-2026: ---- Boys: 8,65,740 Girls: 7,49,736 Transgenders: 13 Total: 1,615,489 ---- No. of schools students have registered from: 23,683 Total exam centres: 5,111 ---- From Pune division: ---- Boys: 1,50,279 Girls: 1,27,865 Transgender: 1 Total: 2,78,145 ---- No. of schools students have registered from: 3,665 Total exam centres: 684 ---- 10 counsellors appointed by the board 9960644411 7972573742 9834084593 9359978315 8169202214 9371661255 7208429381 7701956068 8421150528 9404783996 ----