Class 10, 12 exams to be held offline: Maharashtra board

Dismissing rumours about whether Class 10 and 12 board exams will be conducted online, the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) said it will hold the exams in offline mode.

The board’s chairperson Dinkar Patil said that students and parents should not believe in rumours that are doing the rounds on social media. “We are currently making all the necessary arrangements for conducting exams as usual, that is in the offline format. Considering the high number of students and the different places from where they write exams, online exams do not seem feasible,” said Patil.

He added that the exact guidelines with respect to the exams will be declared at a later date.

“There are two months to the exams and we will keep a tab on the Covid-19 situation in the state. Any changes or modifications in the existing format will have to be thought of only if needed later,” said Patil.

With schools in Mumbai remaining closed, parents and teachers, over the past few days, have been requesting the state education department to give 50% weightage to internal assessments for Class 10 and 12 exams. Several parents have also requested for online exams.

Around 1.5 million students appear for the HSC (Class 12) exam, while over 1.7 million students write their SSC exams (Class 10) from the state every year.

While the board conducts these exams in February and March every year, this year they have been pushed for later months owing to the Covid-19 outbreak and the resultant lockdown. While HSC exams will be held between April 23 and May 21, SSC exams will be conducted between April 29 and May 20.