AHMEDABAD: Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHEB) has made installation of CCTV cameras a prerequisite for granting permission to run new schools. Board officials said that this has been done to ensure that there are more exam centres available where copying can be curbed using third eye.

Chairman of the board R R Varsani said the experiment of the board to use CCTV cameras and tablets at the exam centres has yielded stupendous success as 950 copying cases were recorded from the CCTV and tablet footage sent to the board from exam centres. The board also sent notices to 175 teachers who were found not taking any action even as children copied under their noses or even facilitating copying.

Varsani said that given the success of tablets and CCTV cameras, it has been decided that all schools which apply for permission should have installed cameras. “The cost of installing CCTV comes to Rs 35,000-45,000 but it pays rich dividends as it would help in curbing copying completely during the SSC and HSC exams,” he said.

This year, the board has received nearly 450 applications seeking permission to start schools in the state. Last year, the board had mandated that the schools should have grounds for permission to be granted. This year, CCTV installation has been mandated.

The board has also decided to use buildings other than schools which are equipped with CCTV cameras and seating arrangements as examination centres. “There are many government colleges and other public buildings like exhibition halls, computer halls etc which have seating arrangements as well CCTV cameras. If we use multiple supervisors, these sites can be good venues as exam centres”, said Varsani.