Feb. 21: Preparations are in order for the matriculation and intermediate exams which begin tomorrow.

In a bid to avoid the rush to various examination centres in Ranchi, the academic council has made arrangements for rural centres in various blocks of the district.

This step has been taken to provide convenience to rural candidates who had to otherwise travel long distances to appear for the exams.

Now, there will be 62 centres for rural students in different blocks of the district. While for urban students the number of centres in Ranchi will be 25. Last year, there were 69 centres in both the urban and rural areas.

A total of 3,41,533 students are appearing for the matriculation exam as compared to 2,82,679 last year. While for the intermediate examination, there are 2,18,188 candidates against 1,72,121 last year.

A.K. Sharma, the district education officer (DEO), told The Telegraph that all the arrangements have been made. “We feel that the rural students are tired by the time they reach the city for the examination. Moreover, it becomes quite late when they are on their way home. That could be unsafe for them. Thus, the rural centres will put a check on that,” Sharma added.

Besides, as part of the examination arrangements, Jharkhand Academic Council’s (JAC) chairman Shaligram Yadav said all the students have been given admit cards and adequate seating arrangements have also been done. “Two invigilators in each of the centres will follow a strict code of conduct,” Yadav said. The chairman added that the students would be given 15 minutes to read the question papers before writing the examination. “Besides, we are also going to expel the students if they are caught cheating under the Jharkhand Examination Conduct Act 2001,” the chairman warned.

If caught cheating, students will have to pay a penalty of Rs 1,200.

In Jamshedpur, all preparations were completed a day in advance. Over 21,000 students would appear for matriculation exam from 53 centres across East Singhbhum.

Special arrangements have also been made by the Jharkhand Academic Council and the judiciary at all centres across the district. Even West Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharsawan have been covered.

Police forces would be deputed at each of the centres. That apart, around 13 flying squads comprising government officers and teachers have been formed to take rounds of the centres.

Out of the 53 centres in East Singhbhum, around four are new additions for the matriculation and the intermediate exams. The exam would end on March 14 . In Seraikela-Kharsawan there are, however, 30 centres for matriculation and 11 for the intermediate examinations. The numbers at West Singhbhum are 26 for matriculation and 11 for the intermediate exams.

Practical exams would begin from March 11 for Class X and from March 26 for Class XII.