MSBSHSE chairman Vijaysheela Sardesai told The Indian Express that the board had written to the collector and the divisional commissioner of Pune requesting for their squads in addition to the board's squads. “Their help will be needed especially for some important papers where the chances of copying are more. The board has decided to implement the ‘copy free exams’ campaign intensively this year,” she said.

District collector Chandrakant Dalvi confirmed that the collectorate would maintain a strict vigil during the exams. “There are 79 centres in the district and we have assigned each centre to three people. The centre head will be held responsible for any incidents of copying,” he said.

Dalvi said a separate cell at Zilla Parishad has been set up to monitor the exams. “In addition to the centre head, one officer from the collectorate will keep a watch on the proceedings at the centres. If the officer finds some irregularity, he/she will contact the nearby police stations or the Zilla Parishad cell,” he said.

An extra squad under his leadership has also been formed for surprise checks. “We will take the strictest possible action against those found copying and those who fail to stop it,” said Dalvi.

The MSBSHSE is all prepared to prevent copying. The board has eight divisions in the state that conduct class 12 and class 10 exams across the state. “The board has increased the inspection squads to keep a close watch during the exams and empowered the divisional heads to take strong action against copying as and when the need arises,” said Sardesai.

“The board is ready with inspection squads, each consisting of 5-6 members, at each of the eight divisions across the state,” said a senior officer of the board. “In addition to these squads, this time we will have a force of non-government members of the board to keep a vigil at the examination centre. The board will carry out a video-recording of the proceedings at sensitive centres,” he said.