Maha to prepare SOP to prevent university exam paper leaks

The SOP will be prepared based on guidelines issued by the central government, higher and technical education minister Chandrakant Patil said.

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government will prepare a standard operating procedure (SOP) to prevent examination paper leaks in universities. The SOP will be prepared based on guidelines issued by the central government, higher and technical education minister Chandrakant Patil said on Tuesday.

Mumbai: BJP Maharashtra President Chandrakant Patil and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at the BJP MLA meeting at Vasant Sruti at Dadar in Mumbai, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019. (PTI Photo/Mitesh Bhuvad)(PTI11_24_2019_000106B) (PTI)

The minister also directed the department to prepare clear rules to prevent paper leaks and issue a circular fixing responsibility on officials and employees if any lapse occurs.

At an online meeting with vice-chancellors of all public universities in the state, Patil said the department will also work toward a common academic calendar starting in the 2026-27 academic year and asked the universities to prepare and finalise the calendar within a week. He also directed them to prepare an academic plan for effectively implementing the four-year honours degree programme from 2026-27 and 2027-28 academic years.

To better understand student problems, the vice-chancellors were advised to meet 50 students every week. Universities must submit reports to the government detailing the problems raised by the students and the steps taken to resolve them.

The minister also asked universities to create college clusters and increase the sharing of resources such as teachers, laboratories, libraries and other facilities. Universities were asked to conduct at least one cluster activity every month. For this, he asked the universities to study cluster courses developed by the University of Mumbai and other universities and prepare a common, quality-based cluster curriculum for the state.