NEW DELHI: Cracking down on lax compliance of examination guidelines , the Central Board of Secondary Education has issued notices to over 200 schools that are part of the 5,300 examination centres for the classes X and XII board exams currently under way. After violations were detected through the board's confidential material tracking monitoring (CMTM) mobile application, CBSE issued 1,242 notices, each carrying a fine of Rs 50,000, to the schools.Anurag Tripathi, secretary, CBSE, disclosed that the majority of the notices were issued during the first 10 days of the examinations, which started on February 15, though none of the cases involved tampering of question papers. The violations, he said, were related to timelines associated with the exam process, handling of confidential materials and delegation of scheduled responsibilities.It is for the first time that CBSE is taking a disciplinary step of this sort and imposing financial penalties. The schools facing action include Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas and government and private schools. The notices were sent not only to the school principals, but also the school education departments in the states concerned, school managements and official authorised to enforce compliance. The schools have been cautioned that repeat violation could attract a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh and even disaffiliation.“Following this, 99% of the schools are complying with the guidelines,” said Tripathi. “CBSE is cracking the whip not to harass a school, but to ensure safety of the students, preserve the sanctity of the exam process, sustain the trust of the people and offer a full-proof examination. If the schools respond to the notices with genuine reasons, for instance that internet access was not available, then the fines will be waived.”According to a senior CBSE official, the board is enforcing a “zero-tolerance policy” on any breach of the examination guidelines for 2020 and affiliation bylaws. For the safe collection and delivery of exam materials such as question papers, the guidelines require photo tagging of the custodian and centre superintendent with the image of the material meant for that particular centre. The superintendents, who are generally school principals, have also been instructed to be personally involved in the handling of the confidential materials and not to delegate their responsibilities to others. “If emergency cases require the superintendents to delegate work to others, they have to take written permission from CBSE regional offices,” said Tripathi.Over 5,000 centre superintendents were directed to personally use the CMTM app at each step of the exam process. The app captures images, time and location of activities like receiving of sensitive materials, opening of question paper packets and completion of the exam. Timelines were given for each part of the process.According to sources in the board, sensitive exam centres were identified, and principals of other institutions were deputed as superintendents at such centres. CBSE also nominated external observers at the centres.