PUNE: Nearly 15 lakh students from across the state will be appearing for the higher secondary certificate HSC ) examination starting on Thursday.This year, for the first time, the HSC students will answer activity-based questions in the core science and language subjects. The Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education has introduced the new question pattern to discourage rote learning among students and make education more application-oriented.The board is conducting the HSC exam in its nine divisions — Pune, Mumbai, Nashik , Kolhapur, Aurangabad, Latur, Amravati, Konkan and Nagpur.“We had announced the timetable for the HSC exam on November 22 on the board website. Students are expected to follow only the official schedule,” said Shakuntala Kale, the state board chairman, during a news conference on Wednesday. “Like every year, we have given adequate time for preparation between two papers. For the first time, all the applications were filled online and the hall tickets were also issued online,” Kale said.The state board has instructed students to report to the examination centre at least 30 minutes before time. The students will be receiving answer sheets 20 minutes before the exam starts to fill up personal details. Question papers will be given 10 minutes before the official time. The students can start writing the exam exactly 10 minutes after they receive the question papers. As many as 2,957 centres have been allotted for the exam.The exam for the information technology (IT) subject will be conducted online and 1,25,688 students have registered for it.To prevent malpractices at the examination centres, security arrangements, including videography, have been made at all centres. The district collectors will head the vigilance committees to oversee smooth conduct of the exam while flying and sitting squads will visit the centres.

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