On Wednesday morning, over seven lakh class XII students from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will take their first paper (Language I) of this year's State Board Higher Secondary examination across nearly 2,000 centres.
This year, 3,87,102 girls will take the examination, outnumbering the boys by over 50,000. About 60,000 students will appear for the examination as private candidates.
According to a press release from the Directorate of Government Examinations, students with visual impairment, speech or hearing impairment and learning disabilities were provided scribes, the option to drop one language paper and additional time of one hour to complete the examination paper.
Chief Educational Officers and District Educational Officers have been travelling to different question paper custodian points to ensure that safety measures are in place, officials said. Enhanced police protection will be provided at examination centres and flying squads would undertake surprise checks at examination centres.
Students indulging in malpractices such as possession of printed books, notes or manuscripts, attempt to copy from another candidate, misbehaviour with invigilators, substitution of answer books, or impersonation will be punished severely, the Directorate has warned. Last year, as many 287 were caught indulging in malpractice and were punished for it.
A total of 34,234 students in Tiruvallur district will be taking the examination. According to Collector T.P.Rajesh the examinations will be conducted in 75 centres ? 40 in Ponneri Education District and 35 in Tiruvallur Education District ? and flying squads, 3 persons per examination centre, have been formed. While 19,600 students will be taking up the Higher Secondary School Examinations in Ponneri Education District, 14,634 will be appearing for the examinations in Tiruvallur Education District, he said.
The class XII examinations end on March 25