‘From 90 To 6 Per Cent’: Shocking Drop In Maharashtra Exam Council Pass Rates After CCTV Installation
Maharashtra’s exam council pass rates plunged from over 90% to as low as 6% after CCTV installation at centres, cracking down on widespread cheating.
Published : March 18, 2026 at 5:16 PM IST
Pune: The Maharashtra State Council of Examination (MSCE) witnessed a drastic plunge in pass rates from over 90 per cent to as low as 6 per cent after installing CCTV cameras at exam centres statewide, aiming to curb widespread cheating.
Chairman of the council, Nandkumar Bedse, MSCE, said that the MSCE conducts various exams, including NMMS scholarship tests, computer typing, shorthand, and defence-related exams, which previously showed strong results but have declined significantly since the installation of CCTVs.
“During the Class 5 and 8 Scholarship and NMMS examinations held in the 2025-26 academic year, CCTV cameras were installed at the 27 examination centres that had previously recorded the highest pass percentages. Now, the pass percentage at some of these centres plummeted drastically from a staggering 95 per cent to a straight 9 per cent,” he said.
According to him, the council followed the same approach in other exams, such as installing CCTV cameras at 48 examination centres during the computer typing examination held in January 2026. “This too had an impact, as the pass percentage at some of these centres also dropped significantly from 97 per cent to 8 per cent,” Bedse said.
The MSCE Chairman said that the council also fined administrators of 110 institutions a total of Rs 25 lakhs for admitting students beyond authorised capacity during the July 2023 computer and machine-typing exams.
“To further reduce cheating, the MSCE moved the ‘Speed Passage’ section of the computer typing exam to the beginning of the paper, starting June 2024. This change significantly lowered malpractice involving unauthorised individuals typing this section,” he said.
Highlighting the MSCE’s use of advanced technology, Bedse said that in teacher eligibility tests, in which hundreds of thousands of candidates appeared, AI, biometric, and facial recognition systems were introduced. “The MSCE was the first in India to conduct a fully online stenography exam in June 2024, covering multiple state departments, with results released without complaints,” he said.
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