The Mumbai Association of Heads of Secondary Schools has recently written to the State Board and the education department requesting changes in the existing board exam system to ensure that the system remains free from glitches and malpractices. The letter, sent by the organisation on Saturday, has suggested several changes including decentralisation of the board office, having a deadline for applications and not allowing late comers to sit for exams and to not give the papers to students before 11 am to avoid the possibility of malpractice.   

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This year, a total of 3.39 lakh and 3.86 lakh students appeared for the HSC and SSC exams respectively, an increase of about six and three per cent respectively as compared to the last year. Due to the large number of students appearing for the exam especially from the Mumbai Division, several centres had to shift students to other centres at the very last minute leading to confusion amongst students and parents. 

The association, in the letter, has suggested splitting the Mumbai Divisional Board, which currently includes Mumbai, Palghar, Thane and Raigad into two — urban and rural. “There should be a division of the board into two centres; the existing board office in Vashi can continue to serve as the rural centre for Thane, Palghar and Raigad, and there can be another board office in Bandra or Sion for all of Mumbai to reduce the burden on one centre leading to confusion amongst schools and students” states the letter. 

The association has also raised concerns about the board providing hall tickets to students until the very last minute. “There is a lot of chaos, as several students especially private candidates get their hall tickets a day or a few hours before the exam. Schools find it difficult to verify the students’ identity as the photo on the hall ticket is stuck and not printed. Also, the centre has great difficulty in accommodating these students at the last minute when there is already a space crunch. The board should not accept applications after January 31 to avoid this confusion,” said Prashant Redij, Secretary of the association.   In the backdrop of several cases of paper leak in the ongoing board exams, the association has asked the board to not give the paper to students before 11 am when the exam begins. “Students are given the paper 10 minutes before time. In the backdrop of malpractices, the board should be careful as students might use technology to leak the paper at such times. The board can give the papers at 11 am and then give an additional 10 minutes to complete the paper”, reads the letter.  

Despite repeated calls and messages, state board chairman Gangadhar Mhamane could not be reached for a comment.