The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has announced a mandatory Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) policy for schools designated as examination centres for the upcoming Class 10 and 12 board examinations. With around 44 lakh students expected to participate in these exams across India and 26 countries in 2025, the board will designate approximately 8,000 schools as examination centres.
In a directive issued to all affiliated schools, the CBSE emphasised that any school lacking a CCTV facility would not be considered for designation as an examination centre. The newly developed CCTV policy aims to ensure the smooth and fair conduct of examinations by deterring unfair practices and enhancing monitoring capabilities.
The policy outlines the following key guidelines:
- CCTV Installation and Operation: Schools must install cameras to cover all examination areas, ensuring high-resolution footage is recorded continuously throughout the examination period.
- Privacy Compliance: All students and staff must be notified about the CCTV installation, with measures in place to protect the confidentiality of the recordings. Footage will only be accessible to authorised personnel and retained for two months after the declaration of results.
- Monitoring Protocol: One responsible individual will be assigned for every ten examination rooms or 240 students to ensure fair conduct during exams.
This initiative aligns with CBSE's commitment to uphold integrity in education and reflects the objectives of the National Education Policy 2020. Furthermore, the CBSE recently hosted a workshop at Sardar Patel Vidyalaya in New Delhi aimed at equipping 150 principals from CBSE schools with strategies to support students' emotional and psychological well-being.