The Board, meanwhile, is working on an action plan to check malpractices at the examination centres which also entails the formation of an examination committee to guard against misconduct by the students during examination by roping in regulators and supervisors at the venue of the exams. The respective district collector will be the chairman of the committee while the district education officer (DEO) will function as the committee convener.

Talking to Express Newsline, Board Examination Secretary Vijay Valand said the Board has called for a meeting in Gandhinagar on February 15 to implement the plan at examination centres across the State to ensure co-ordination and maintain a check on the likelihood of malpractices. The meeting will be attended by Board members and representatives of State-level educational associations.

At a meeting convened recently by Board Chairman J D Vyas, it was also decided that special squads would be formed to supervise the examinations at certain examination centres identified as susceptible to malpractices. In this regard, the DEO of every district has been asked to furnish the Board with a list proposing the names of retired teachers and principals known for their efficacy, experience and trustworthiness. Each squad will comprise at least five such members, the names of whom will be finalised by the Board.

Valand said that in a bid to ensure unprejudiced scrutiny, the Board had also decided that the squads will operate in districts other than their own. Thus, the squad constituting members from Vadodara district will be assigned an area of operation outside their district.