11,84,226 students from 5601 colleges across the state will appear for the exam that will be held in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Auragabad, Kolhapur, Amravati, Nashik and Latur districts.

MSBSHSE has asked all invigilators to ensure that the exam is conducted smoothly in case such rumours arise. Last year, just before the exams were about to begin in a college in Malad, a prankster had burst a fire cracker.  

Basanti Roy, Mumbai divisional secretary, MSBSHSE said, “In case of a bomb scare, we have instructed invigilators not to disturb students whilst the police and college authorities ascertain if the call is a hoax. We have asked all the principals to carry out checks in all the rooms in the schools/colleges before the exams. In the end, it is the students who suffer due to such hoaxes because the exams get rescheduled. To ensure that this does not happen, we have instructed all invigilators to not panic if such a situation arises, and let students continue with their work.”

Roy also said that in wake of the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai, invigilators have been asked to remain ‘alert and cautious.’

 There are 3,10,928 students in the science stream, 5,16,876 in the Arts stream, 2,96,085 in the Commerce stream and 63,337 students in the Minimum Competency Vocational Courses (MCVC) this year. 245 flying squads across all the districts (7 flying squads for each district) comprising members of MSBSHSE and education officers will visit centres to keep malpractices under check. Centres have also been equipped with CCTV cameras.

 Like every year, the board has launched its helpline number ¿ 27893756 — that will be functional from 9 am to 7 pm for HSC and Secondary School Certificate (SSC) students till March 23. Students can contact the board on this helpline in case of emergencies and guidance.

“The helpline is not meant for frivolous queries like timetable. However, if students are unable to reach their centre in time because of train/bus delay etc, or in case of medical emergencies, they can contact us on the helpline.”