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Boards 2019: Maharashtra Board HSC exams begin today, 14.9 lakh students, 236 transgenders to appear
The board has reiterated that latecomers will not be allowed to enter the exam hall and will be barred from writing their exams. “The centre can allow students to come in by 11.10 for the 11 am session for genuine reason.
Over 14.9 lakh students from the state will appear for their Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) exams that begin today. In a first, 236 transgender students have officially registered for the exams as the board had introduced the option to choose a third gender in the online forms from this year.
Mumbai division, which also includes Thane, Raigad and Palghar, has more than 3,35,000 students registered for the exams. This includes 62 transgender students. “We have not verified the details of these students because one does not need any documents to mark the third gender,” said Sharad Khandagale, secretary, Mumbai divisional board.
The first paper – English — would begin at 11am today. Several students had queued up outside the board’s office on Wednesday requesting a change in centre. “Students want to change their centre owing to genuine reasons such as an injury or a medical condition. We are trying to consider all these requests to ensure that students have no difficulty in writing their papers,” he said.
The board has reiterated that latecomers will not be allowed to enter the exam hall and will be barred from writing their exams. “The centre can allow students to come in by 11.10 for the 11 am session for genuine reason. All those coming in between 11.10 and 11.20 will have to get the divisional board’s approval before getting a nod. Beyond that, no student will be allowed in the exam hall,” said Khandagale. Twenty flying squads of the divisional board and over five squads at the district level will monitor the exams every day.
Centres will have to distribute papers only in packets of 25 papers in a bundle. “If there is space crunch they can have upto fifty students and make two bunches of papers. Two students on a seat are however not allowed.”
Meanwhile, students can call on the board helplines from 9 am to 7pm everyday if they are stressed or have any exam related queries.
14,91,306: Total students registered
3,35,428: Students registered from Mumbai division
STREAM-WISE BREAKUP (Mumbai division)
54,056: Arts
91,178: Science
1,85,774: Commerce
4,420: MCVC (vocational)
1,877: Students with special needs
236: Transgenders registered from the state
62: Transgenders registered from Mumbai division
HELPLINE NUMBERS FOR MUMBAI DIVISION
(Open every day from 9am to 7pm, starting today)
9322527076
8888830139
9819016270
9867874623
9423947266
7506302353
9969038020
9869307657
OTHER HELPLINES
Aasra (24 hours): 022-27546669
TISS: 022-25521111
Instructions:
Students will be allowed to enter the exam hall an hour before the exam time
Students will be given the question paper 10 minutes before the exam. During this time, they can read the paper
Students have to reach the exam hall before 11 am for the first session and before 3pm for the second session. A maximum delay of 10 minutes will be considered if there is a genuine reason. If the student reaches within 20 minutes of the commencement of exam, the divisional board will take a call on whether or not to allow him/her to write the exam
CHANGES MADE BY THE BOARD THIS YEAR
-Divyang stickers: The state board has introduced divyang stickers, which would be pasted on answer sheets of students with special needs. These stickers would help in segregating the answer sheets of such students and make evaluation easy as the board grants them certain concessions in exams depending on the kind of disability.
-Survey of problem centres: Considering the cases of malpractices reported at a few schools and junior colleges last year, the board had asked its flying squads to inspect these centres in advance this year to ensure security provisions were in place at these centres.
-Background checks of staff: The board had asked centres in the division to conduct a background check of all the staffers involved in the exam processes to curb malpractices. Centres had been asked to ensure that those with a previous history of malpractice are not employed again this time.
-Latecomers will have to fill a form: While the board will not allow any student to enter the exam hall after the exam begins, those coming in up to 20 minutes late will be allowed to sit only after getting the permission of the centre and the board. Such students will have to fill out a form citing the reason for the delay.
