MUMBAI, March 11: Barring some sabotage attempts, a few missing invigilators and principals, and some some noisy demonstrations by the striking non-teaching employees, the first paper of the HSC board examination passed off peacefully today. Over 1.50 lakh students wrote their paper at 51 centres, some of which were managed by education department employees and even senior college students.At the Pendharkar College in Dombivli miscreants struck in the night. College authorities said around 12.30 am it was discovered that all the seat numbers had been wiped off the desks. The intruders had gained entry into the examination halls by smashing window panes. They had also filled cement in all the locks. ``We were forced to undertake a major damage-control exercise early in the morning,'' said Principal V N Kulkarni.At other colleges, in comparison, the problems faced were minor. Barring a few noisy demonstrations reported earlier in the day, there was no major trouble. There was a lot of confusion,though.Anxious students were seen asking cops if their exams would be held at all. ``Only when I sat in the exam hall did I heave a sigh of relief,'' said a D G Ruparel College student, S Nitin. Students said for the first 15 minutes they could hear slogans from outside. However, the exams were conducted peacefully once the striking employees were arrested.Arrests were also made at other colleges including Ruia and Poddar at Matunga, K J Somaiya at Vidyavihar, Chetana and Rizvi colleges at Bandra and Jhunjhunwala at Ghatkopar.At a few colleges in Kalyan, Dombivli and Ulhasnagar, the non-teaching staff had started gathering from 7.00 am itself, but the police did not even wait for them to get their act together. At CHM college, Ulhasnagar, when the employees got to know of the pre-emptive arrests, they broke into small groups and placed themselves strategically near the college.Top police officials, city and suburban collectors, and the education minister Sudhir Joshi visited several centres inthe city to ensure that there were no glitches. The Mumbai Suburban District Collector, Sanjay Chahande, who was in charge of 39 centres, said: ``I received complaints that the teachers were being prevented from entering the premises by the striking employees at three colleges, but the situation was soon brought under control.''But the examinations were not without a few goof-ups. For instance, at Poddar College the hapless education department officers were desperately seeking volunteers to invigilate. Mistaking two reporters as staffers, an official asked them to supervise. On realising his folly, the official said: ``Not that we are short of staff, but a few more men would have made our job easier. We are not used to this kind of work.''The situation worsened as a few principals chose to stay away from all the action under the pretext of threat to their lives. While Principal R T Sane of Ruia College did not report to work, Principal Dhakappa of K J Somaiya College, a stronghold of the non-teachingfederation, also stayed away. At the CHM College, Ulhasnagar, it was the senior college students from FY, SY and TY who were voluntarily helping the examination staff.While he was pleased with the smooth conduct of exams today, divisional secretary of the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, Gurunath Kanthe, maintained that the real test was tomorrow.According to the general secretary of the Maharashtra College Non-teaching Staff Federation, R B Singh, about 3,000 federation members were arrested today. While most were released, about 800 employees were still in jail, he said, adding that the strike would continue peacefully. Singh himself was not arrested as he was attending a meeting at Mumbai University.A hall ticket to cheating Some students have taken advantage of the authorities' soft stand on the hall ticket problem. At the R K Talreja College, Ulhasnagar, a student flashed his FY card and admittedhe had appeared proxy for his brother. ``I wish a similar arrangement is possible for the Maths paper too,'' he said, going on to explain his modus operandi.``When I was asked for my hall ticket, I said I hadn't been given one. I made up a story that my pocket was picked when asked for my ID card,'' he said with a flourish.Like him, others who thrived on the chaos around were rickshawallahs who were charging exorbitant rates for short distances. Badly hit were students in remote centres like the Aggarwal College, Kalyan, who had to shell out as much as Rs 35-40 for a distance of only 6 km from the station.
