636 HSC copying cases detected

The Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) has detected 636 copying cases during the ongoing HSC exams, which are being conducted in the nine divisions of the board across the state. When compared to previous years, the number of detected cases is an all-time high with Aurangabad registering 302 cases out of the total number detected. According to board officials, increased vigilance at the district level has ensured that students, supervisors and parents involved in copying and abetment to copying do not get away with it.

Speaking about the high number of cases detected by the flying squads and vigilance committees set up across the nine divisions, Krishnakumar Patil, secretary, MSBSHSE, Pune said, “The board is trying to ensure that the message of nakal se akal nahi badhti (copying does not help increase your knowledge) reaches to students and abettors loud and clear. While the board has no role to play in the detections, all credit goes to the district collectors who are responsible for setting up of flying squads and vigilance committees that visit schools regularly.”

“They have taken the issue seriously and hence we are seeing a large number of detections being done,” Mr Patil further said.

In fact, the number of cases detected in the first 10 days of the HSC exams has overshot the total number of cases detected during the entire duration of the HSC exams last year by a huge margin. Last year, the board had registered overall 523 cases but with the HSC exams to go on till March 29, the numbers will definitely surge.

While Aurangabad has the highest number of detected cases, it is followed by Nashik with 118 cases and Amravati with 93 cases. Nagpur and Pune have 44 and 34 cases respectively. Latur and Kolhapur have 19 and 17 cases while Mumbai has 10 cases. Only the Konkan division, which has the lowest number of students appearing for the exams among all divisions, has no cases to show till now.

“Though we have set up 252 flying squads across the nine divisions, we shared information of areas prone to copying to the respective district collectors. The current detections can be attributed to the increased vigilance committees set up by the collectors,” said Mr Patil.