Exams begin, but without promised vigilance panels

No glitches in question papers; some students unable to find centres

Exams begin, but without promised vigilance panels

No glitches in question papers; some students unable to find centres

The first day of HSC exams evoked mixed reactions from students and colleges. There were no major hiccups, but many initiatives announced by the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) proved to be a flop.

While the helpline provided by MSBSHSE did not work for most part of the day, the vigilance committees were not seen at the centres either. The board had announced that for every exam centre, a vigilance committee comprising seven to eight members ufffd local corporator, women from SHGs, NGO representatives, parents ufffd would be appointed to prevent cheating. This committee was supposed to be present at exam centres an hour prior to commencement of exams. When MiD DAY visited three prominent colleges ufffd Abasaheb Garware College, Shivaji Nagar's Modern College and Fergusson College ufffd there was not a single member of the vigilance committee present.

Nilesh Sharma, a parent who was waiting with his wife at Fergusson College, said that he was kept out of college initially by the security guards. "I have not seen any member of the so-called vigilance committee out here," he said.

Ujjwaladevi Patil, chairperson of MSBSHSE, agreed the members of vigilance committee may not have been present everywhere. "This initiative was mainly targeted at exam centres which are infamous for cheating. But the vigilance committee members have voluntarily taken up tasks and we cannot force them to be present," she said.

The question papers were free of errors and most students said it was relatively easy to solve. "The paper came on time and was easy to attempt. Most of us were quite happy," said Nishit Shetty, student of Fergusson College.

Some students did face a problem in locating their exam centres. For instance at Modern College in Shivaji Nagar, a girl rushed in crying at 11.30 am as she could not locate her exam centre. "She had been allocated a sub-centre. She got confused and landed up at a wrong centre.u00a0 She then came to the college for help. Our professor escorted her to the right centre," said principal Rajendra Zunjarrao, Modern College. He said every year there were a few such stray cases. "That is why we advise either coming a little earlier on the first day or checking the exam centre before to avoid last-minute confusion," he said.

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