Maha board cracks down on cheating in exams
In a first, the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) has given schools the go-ahead for a mandatory session with students taking board exams to let them know the repercussions of cheating
In a first, the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) has given schools the go-ahead for a mandatory session with students taking board exams to let them know the repercussions of cheating. The goal is to stop children from mimicking or engaging in any unethical behaviour.

This year, MSBSHSE has implemented stringent measures to prevent cheating in the Class 10 and Class 12 board exams. On Thursday, a circular was issued that students who obtained the question papers on their mobile phones by fraudulent means would not be allowed to sit for the board exams for the following five years, and a case under the Maharashtra Cyber Law Act would also be filed against them.
A notice from Anuradha Oak, secretary, MSBSHSE, which has been sent to all schools, mandates that students must show up at 10.30 am for the morning exam and at 2:30 pm for the afternoon one. Students arriving after this hour are not to be admitted to the exam room.
The notice has its genesis in past instances where students used the late arrival exemption and carried their mobile phones into the exam hall with the fraudulently obtained question paper on them. The MSBSHSE issued the circular on Thursday to stop such malpractices.
Exams for Class 12 and Class 10 begin on February 21 and March 2 respectively. MSBSHSE has issued stringent guidelines on these, and has also instructed schools and junior colleges to read the penalty list out to students before the exams and, if feasible, to provide a copy of the punishment list to every student. All students are required to read these guidelines, according to the board. HTC