Chennai, Feb 18 (IANS) More than 17 lakh students across Tamil Nadu will appear for the Class 10 and Class 12 public examinations this year, with the School Education Department stepping up preparations to ensure smooth and transparent conduct.

School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi chaired a high-level review meeting with senior officials on Tuesday to assess examination readiness and prevent any irregularities.

The school education department, in a statement, said that as per official data, 8,27,475 students will write the Class 12 examinations, including 27,783 private candidates.

For Class 10, as many as 9,09,002 students are set to appear, including 26,196 private candidates.

Additionally, 25,051 students will take the Class 11 arrear examinations, of whom 5,944 are private candidates.

It may be noted that Class 12 board exams will be held from March 2 to March 26, while Class 10 exams are scheduled from March 11 to April 6.

Educational access initiatives continue, with 281 prison inmates appearing for the Class 12 exams and 395 inmates for Class 10 exams this year.

To ensure smooth conduct, around 49,000 teachers will be deployed daily on examination duties. In addition, more than 4,900 flying squad members will monitor examination centres to prevent malpractice.

Following complaints last year about misuse of the scribe facility meant for students with disabilities, the Minister announced a new system under which trained volunteers will serve as scribes, replacing subject teachers who previously handled the role. This measure aims to prevent ineligible candidates from availing the facility and to keep teachers fully engaged in invigilation duties.

Students will also benefit from new academic support measures. A new A4-sized logarithmic table book with larger fonts has been introduced for use in examinations.

From this year, candidates appearing for Accountancy will be allowed to use ordinary non-programmable calculators.

To verify residential details of private candidates and ensure they take exams within their respective districts, Aadhaar-based verification has been introduced, with details uploaded in the system.

Responding to teachers’ requests, the Minister said the proposal to install CCTV cameras in examination centres would be studied.

With enhanced monitoring, technological safeguards and student-friendly reforms, the state aims to conduct the 2026 board examinations fairly and efficiently.

–IANS

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