The Maharashtra exam reform committee will begin a statewide consultation tour on September 12 to gather feedback from students, recruitment-exam candidates, parents, teachers, educational institutions and other stakeholders on improving the security and transparency of government recruitment examinations.
The high-level committee, formed on the directions of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, will visit all six revenue divisions between September 12 and September 30. It will study concerns raised by candidates and institutions before recommending changes to the existing examination system.
The committee was established after incidents involving alleged question-paper leaks in examinations conducted through the Maharashtra Public Service Commission and other recruitment processes. Its stated mandate is to examine the current system and suggest measures that can make examinations safer, more transparent, credible, impartial and responsive to candidates.
The panel is chaired by V. Radha, Additional Chief Secretary of the General Administration Department’s Services division. Its members include Director General of Police Sadanand Date, Information Technology Secretary Virendra Singh, Nashik Divisional Commissioner Pravin Gedam, former Union Public Service Commission member Air Marshal Ajit Shankarrao Bhosale (retired), and Professor Shyamprasad Karagadde of the Mechanical Engineering Department at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.
The first consultation will be held on September 12 at Savitribai Phule Pune University in Pune. The committee will then travel to Nagpur on September 16, with the meeting scheduled at the DPDC Hall in the Planning Bhavan in Civil Lines. The Amravati division consultation is scheduled for September 17.
The panel will hold its Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division meeting on September 21 at the Smart City office near Aam Khas Maidan. The Konkan division consultation will take place on September 29 at Chetana College and the Mumbai Suburban District Collector’s Office in Mumbai. The tour will conclude with the Nashik division meeting at the District Collector’s Office on September 30.
The government has provided separate email addresses for each division so that citizens and stakeholders can submit suggestions and feedback. The addresses listed for Pune, Nagpur, Amravati, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Konkan and Nashik are pune-examreformstaskforce@maharashtra.gov.in, nagpur-examreformstaskforce@maharashtra.gov.in, amravati-examreformstaskforce@maharashtra.gov.in, csn-examreformstaskforce@maharashtra.gov.in, konkan-examreformstaskforce@maharashtra.gov.in and nashik-examreformstaskforce@maharashtra.gov.in, respectively.
The committee will examine the feedback received during the meetings and through the email channels. Its recommendations are expected to address the prevention of malpractice, strengthening of examination security, greater transparency and reliability in the recruitment process, and improvements aimed at making the system more candidate-friendly.
