More than 17 lakh students in Tamil Nadu are gearing up to sit for the Class 10 and Class 12 public exams this year. The School Education Department is working diligently to ensure a smooth and transparent examination process. School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi recently led a review meeting with senior officials to assess the preparedness for the exams and prevent any irregularities.
In detail, official data reveals that 8,27,475 students, including 27,783 private candidates, will be appearing for the Class 12 exams. For the Class 10 exams, a total of 9,09,002 students, with 26,196 private candidates, are set to participate. Moreover, 25,051 students, including 5,944 private candidates, will be taking the Class 11 arrear exams.
The Class 12 board exams are scheduled to take place from March 2 to March 26, while the Class 10 exams will be held from March 11 to April 6. To ensure a fair examination process, the department will deploy around 49,000 teachers daily for exam duties, along with over 4,900 flying squad members to oversee exam centers and prevent malpractice.
In response to concerns raised last year regarding the misuse of the scribe facility, a new system has been introduced. Trained volunteers will now act as scribes instead of subject teachers, aiming to prevent ineligible candidates from taking advantage of the facility. This change also allows teachers to focus solely on invigilation duties.
Students will benefit from new academic support measures, including the introduction of an A4-sized logarithmic table book with larger fonts for exams. Additionally, candidates taking the Accountancy exam will be permitted to use ordinary non-programmable calculators.
To ensure the authenticity of private candidates and their exam locations, an Aadhaar-based verification system has been implemented. Residential details are now verified through Aadhaar, with the information uploaded into the system. In response to teacher requests, the proposal to install CCTV cameras in exam centers will be reviewed.
With a focus on enhanced monitoring, technological safeguards, and student-friendly reforms, Tamil Nadu aims to conduct the upcoming board exams in 2026 fairly and efficiently.
