The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) has instructed school principals to preserve CCTV recordings of the ICSE and ISC examinations for 60 days after the declaration of results.

The deputy secretary (ISC), Sangeeta Bhatia, told principals at a recent conference that if the council asked for the recordings, the schools cannot say that they have been “overwritten” or were not available.

“CCTV recordings should be preserved for 60 days from the date of declaration of results. If we ask for it, you cannot turn back and say unfortunately we do not have...,” Bhatia told the principals.

The ICSE (Class X) exams begin on February 17 and ISC (Class XII) on February 12.

Bhatia said that some centres in the past had lost their status as independent examination venues for failing to provide the recordings.

Last week, Bhatia addressed principals from around 150 schools across the country at the annual conference of the Association of Heads of Anglo-Indian Schools in India. Her session primarily focused on the conduct of the examinations, related procedures and adherence to timelines. “As heads of schools, you play a pivotal role in upholding the integrity, fairness and smooth conduct of the examinations....”

The system of having the board exams under constant CCTV surveillance was introduced last year. The cupboard where confidential materials, such as examination stationery, are stored should also be under CCTV surveillance.

Several principals agreed that CCTV surveillance could ensure a certain level of “transparency” in the conduct of an examination.

“We usually transfer it into a drive and preserve it. Technology has made these options easier,” said Ian Myers, the principal of Frank Anthony Public School.

“If there is an overlap of timings between an ICSE and ISC exam and the ISC exam has to be conducted in a separate room for even a day, we have to ensure that even that room is under strict CCTV surveillance,” said Terence John, director of education and development, Julien Day Group of Schools.

Except for the art papers, ICSE begins at 11am and ISC at 2pm.