Non-stop work for helplines, exam centres

Parents and students crowd exam centres for last-minute checks as colleges battle staff shortage; helplines flooded with calls Colleges where the HSC exams will be held from today had a tough time yesterday as they battled a staff shortage owing to the Census while working hard to meet the criteria laid down by the education board for security and other arrangements.Students and parents were seen lined up at exam centres for last-minute checks. The education board helplines were also kept busy with constant calls from anxious students and parents. Seeing is believing: Students confirm their names are on the lists at an exam centre yesterday. Pic/Jignesh MistryAnti-copying stepsThis year, stricter security checks to avoid copying seemed to be the focus. At colleges, there were training sessions with invigilators. Sweeping of classrooms for chits left by students was also conducted and arrangements made for CCTV surveillance at some exam centres.Most colleges have also written to the police department asking for constables to be deployed for security at centres as well as for transfer of answer-sheets from sub-centres attached to them.At Shivaji Nagar's Modern College, there was a steady stream of parents and students making last-minute checks and tallying seat numbers displayed on the notice board. Vice Principal Jagdish Chinchore said classrooms in which students would be writing exams would be emptied by noon and after marking the seat numbers, the rooms would be locked.In the morning, our staff will personally check rooms for any chits hidden before the exams. Also, once the students are settled in their seats, we give them a chance as invigilators walk out of the room for 10 minutes, leaving instructions that chits be kept on the main table if anyone is carrying these, he said. Besides that, we have installed CCTV cameras on each floor to keep a tab on student movements. We have also arranged for extra security personnel for the HSC exams.Besides CCTV surveillance, Fergusson College is relying on the training received by its teachers to prevent copying.We held a special training session for invigilators a day before the exams, explaining each one's role. We also discussed how to catch cheaters, if any. Though we have 12 cameras on campus, we aren't relying solely on them and our staff will help catch the culprits, said Principal Dr R B Pardeshi. Also, we are preventing anyone without a valid hall ticket, including parents, from entering the campus, which means it will be easier to keep a watch as the crowd will be lesser.Staff on Census dutySome principals complained that a lot of their staff was involved in Census work, which was affecting exam duties.We have had to call in help from outsiders like former students of the college for invigilation or other exam duties, said Garware College Principal Shrikant Gupta. A lot of our staff is involved on Census duty and though some have agreed to work extra and come here as well, it is not possible for all the staffers, and that's why we are facing this staff crunch.Helplines kept busyEven as colleges were busy with last-minute preparations, those manning the helplines, both private and the ones started by the education board, were managing calls by students and their parents.At the SSC board helpline, staffers were receiving a call every five to 10 minutes for queries regarding exam centres, lost hall tickets and exam timetable confusion, among other things. We started receiving calls from Monday morning. Most of them are from students, though a few parents have also called. The nature of queries are routine; they want to know where their exam centre is or they have lost their hall ticket and are panicking as they don't know what to do, said Shendge, an operator at the SSC board helpline number for Pune. Some students called in to check for facilities like use of calculators for dyslexic students. We have also received calls from colleges or centres regarding things like stationery for exams or security staff. Anusuya Hazarika, a psychology student who is one of the people running the Reach Out helpline started by psychology students, said they had started receiving calls from students who were panicking as they had not completed their portion.The students who call us are depressed as they haven't completed their portion and don't know what to do. We have been counselling them to at least attempt their papers and concentrate on the portion that they are well versed with, besides giving them tips on concentration, said Hazarika.