The Maharashtra Secondary School Certificate Class 10 board examinations have begun across the state from today. A total of 16,15,489 students are appearing for the examinations, which will continue until March 18.
Of the total candidates, 8,65,740 are male students, 7,49,736 are female students and 13 are transgender candidates.
The examination is being conducted across 5,111 centres in Maharashtra, with participation from students registered in 23,683 schools statewide. The board recorded an increase of 3,879 students in 2026 compared to the previous year.
At a press conference held on February 18, Nandkumar Bedse, interim Chairperson of the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, informed that 554 of the 5,111 examination centres do not have CCTV cameras installed.
The board has identified 191 examination centres as sensitive due to their vulnerability to malpractices. Of these, 42 centres lack CCTV cameras, and examination staff at these locations have been transferred as a precautionary measure.
The board has also stated that cases will be registered under the Maharashtra Prevention of Malpractices Act, 1982, if any malpractice is detected at examination centres.
Division-wise data shows that the highest number of candidates are appearing from the Mumbai division with 3,49,873 students, followed by Pune with 2,78,145. Other divisions include Nashik with 2,06,636 candidates, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar with 1,91,952, Amravati with 1,65,318, Nagpur with 1,53,890, Kolhapur with 1,32,808, Latur with 1,11,088 and Konkan with 25,779 candidates.
Candidates have been instructed to reach their examination centres at least thirty minutes before the scheduled start time. Students appearing in the morning session must report by 10.30 am, while those in the afternoon session are required to be present by 2.30 pm. As per norms, an additional ten minutes is being provided at the end of the examination duration.
For student welfare, ten counsellors have been appointed at the state board level and two counsellors per district at the divisional level are available over the phone to provide mental health support during the examination period.
