GSHSEB started the facility of online hall tickets this year wherein students could download theirs. (File Photo)
FIVE FIRS were lodged in connection with 15 cases of unfair means, which were reported on the first day of the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) exams on Thursday.
These included a total of three dummy cases — two reported from Junagadh and one from Rajkot — and one mobile phone case each from Thangadh in Surendranagar and Ahmedabad (rural).
The Junagadh police also arrested three men with 44 forged hall tickets on late Wednesday and exposed an alleged racket of fielding dummy candidates in exams.
Based on a tip-off, police raided the residence of one Rajesh Gujarati and seized 44 forged hall tickets. Gujarati confessed that he was forging these receipts as asked by Rana Tapariya and Pravin Solanki, and that he used to charge Rs 3,000 for each forged receipt. Police said that Gujarati forged hall tickets by replacing the photo of the original student with that of a dummy and then stamping it by using rubber stamps of various schools’ principals. Police also seized unauthorised rubber stamps from his residence.
“These hall tickets are for the schools of Junagadh, Rajkot, Gir Somnath and Porbandar districts. We have arrested three persons and have booked as accused the 44 students in whose names the hall tickets were issued,” Junagadh Superintendent of Police, Saurabh Singh said. “The arrested accused used to help original students arrange dummy students, who were to take board exams on behalf of the former.” The police has also alerted schools where the dummy candidates were to appear for the board examinations, he added.
GSHSEB started the facility of online hall tickets this year wherein students could download theirs. The downloaded hall ticket had to be then signed by the student and certified by signatures of the class teacher and the school principal, and the school stamp, along with a submission of the student’s photo.
GSHSEB Chairman AJ Shah on Thursday issued a circular to all district education officers to ensure that only candidates with valid hall tickets are allowed inside the exam centre.
He further directed all examination centres’ staff to stringently follow the same.
“The board had issued online hall tickets between February 15 and 20 for class 10 and 12 candidates. On February 14, instructions were communicated to all schools through Bhaskaracharya Institute For Space Applications and Geo-Informatics (BISAG). There is a clear SOP for hall tickets, but all examination in-charges have been asked to strictly verify hall tickets,” Shah said.
The remaining cases of copying were reported from Junagadh (2) and one each from Ahmedabad (rural), Ahmedabad city, Anand, Surendranagar, Surat, Kheda, Bharuch, Junagadh and Gir Somnath.
In the morning session on Thursday, 8,35,809 candidates of class 10 appeared for their first language exams, out of a total 8,57,250 registered candidates. Similarly, 723 out of 728 Class 10 general stream candidates appeared for their exams.
In the afternoon, 1,39,212 Class 12 science stream candidates took their physics exams, of a total 1,40,708 candidates. Similarly, 2,23,499 Class 12 general stream candidates appeared for their exams, out of a total of 2,26,557 candidates.