State Board issues probe orders in Nilajgaon centre case; school permission to be withdrawn;

Aurangabad, March 5:

The Aurangabad division of Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) asked Education Officer M K Deshmukh to probe Nilajgaon examination centre case.

It may be noted that MSBSHSE started conducting HSC examinations on March 4 while SSC students will take their papers from March 15. The State Board invited proposals for the examinations centres from the schools and junior colleges. The MSBSHSE allotted centres on the basis of proposals they received.

HSC students were found taking examinations in a pandal at Laxmibai Secondary and Higher Secondary School (Nilajgaon, Paithan) on Friday.

Taking serious note of the incident, the divisional secretary R P Patil directed the Education Officer M K Deshmukh to probe the matter. R P Patil said that action would be taken against those who are responsible for it.

The president and secretary of the education society of the schools will be given an opportunity to present their side before initiating the action. He said that the centre was shifted to another school.

A total of 151 students will appear for the remaining papers at SBES Secondary School at Bidkin.

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Recommendation to withdraw affiliation, centre

Education Officer M K Deshmukh said that the deputy director of Education and the divisional office of the State Board were recommended to withdraw the affiliation of Laxmibai Higher Secondary and Higher School of Nilajgaon for providing false information.

M K Deshmukh had taken a meeting headmasters of centres and sub-centres on February 14. In the meeting, Nilajgaon school headmaster S M Pawar informed the meeting that the school has 124 HSC students, six classrooms, 125 dual desks and four working teachers. S M Pawar had said that the school had a sitting facility of one bench for one student. Centre chief Sanjiv Bochare visited the sub-centre and found 148 students and four small classrooms. There was a pandal on the remaining two classrooms.

The school had given false information to the Education Department. The office of the deputy director of education was recommended to withdraw the permission of the school till April 30, 2022, for the lack of infrastructure facilities since 2009. The Board was also requested to withdraw affiliation and code number. The school which has 55 class 10th students will also lose the SSC examinations centre and alternative arrangements would be made for them. The Education Department called an emergency meeting of bloc education officers (BEO) on Saturday, despite the public holiday, taking the matter serious of the schools.Deshmukh instructed the BEOs to collect basic facilities information of schools by March 7 if they have any doubt about it.

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MSBSHSE to ensure all facilities before permission

An examination centre should have five basic facilities. They are classrooms, benches, water, washrooms and electricity. The State Board had inspected the chief centres while zonal officers were asked to inspect the facilities at sub-centres.

The Education Department recommended the MSBSHE for the examinations subcenter.

“The Board gave permission to the sub-centres. Now, we will carry out inspection of the sub-centres and submit the report to the ad hoc committee which will take action of withdrawing permission against the schools on hearing president and secretary of the school’s education society,” said R P Patil.