Another candidate said, 'My friend, who has his centre at nearby Poddar College, was asked to switch off his phone and keep it in his bag outside the exam-hall.'
Students keep their phones with one of their parents outside Ruia College on Tuesday. Pic/Ashish Raje
The Maharashtra State Board's Higher Secondary Certificate exams began on Tuesday. On the first day, there was confusion over cell phone restrictions in some colleges. While some colleges allowed candidates to keep their phones in the bag outside of the exam hall, a few did not even allow students inside the gate with a mobile phone.
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Similar chaos was seen outside Matunga's Ruia College where students were not allowed to enter with a mobile phone. One worried candidate who had come from Wadala, said, "I knew that mobile phones are not allowed inside the exam hall. But who knew we would not be allowed to keep it in the bag too."
Another candidate said, "My friend, who has his centre at nearby Poddar College, was asked to switch off his phone and keep it in his bag outside the exam-hall."
However, Yojana Junior College in Borivali east asked students to remove their sports shoes and boots outside. The college implemented this regulation initially but dropped later as shoes began to pile.
When contacted, the school's chief conductor of the examination, without disclosing the name, said, "We were given orders orally from the custody centre in our area."
However, when mid-day enquired at the board office, the Secretary of the Mumbai Division Sandeep Sangave denied any such regulation. "Prescribed restrictions for board exams are only regarding not allowing mobile phones or any other electronic smart devices including calculator inside the exam hall."
A plea for a writer
While the first day of the exams went rather smoothly, a visually challenged student, Mohammad Naved from Palghar, could have missed his entire academic year because he could not find a writer. It was his elder brother Sohail — also visually challenged — who helped him appear for the first paper.
"He asked Naved to enter the exam hall while he searched for a writer outside. A person agreed to write one paper but still, five are left and as per the rules, one writer has to write them all. We are hoping for someone to come forward," said Ummehani Bagaserwala, from Pearls of Vision who is helping visually challenged students find writers.
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