Altogether 3,58,446 students from Assam will sit for the class X examination conducted by the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (Seba).

The examination will begin on Monday and continue till February 29.

Of the candidates, 3,48,739 will appear for the High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) examination and 9,707 will appear for the Assam High Madrassa (AHM) examination. Seba chairman Ramesh Chandra Jain said the examination will be held in 860 centres amid tight security.

“CCTVs have been installed in all examination centres. District administrations will impose CrPC 144 in the examination centres so that no one can come within 100 metres barring candidates and those involved in the examination process,” said Jain.

He said the students will not be allowed to enter the examination centres with mobile phones. The teachers will be allowed to take mobile phones into the examination centres but not into the exam halls.

Seba recently held a meeting with the inspectors of schools and secretaries of academic councils of all districts to discuss the preparation for the examination. During the meeting, it was decided that a notice would be displayed outside the examination centres before three days of commencement of the examination about restrictions on carrying mobile phones.

From this year, Seba decided to bar a candidate from appearing for the examination for three years, instead of the existing one year, if the candidate is found guilty of malpractice.

It will also conduct a career guidance or psychometric test for the students who are appearing for the class X board examination as well as for students who desire to appear in the test for assessment.

The students can fill up forms to sit for the test online in the Seba website till February 10. The test will be held in March.

Governor Jagdish Mukhi extended his heartfelt wishes to all the examinees. “My prayers and wishes are with the students who after years of hard work and dedication are appearing for their first board examination. I wish you all the very best and pray to God that you all come out successful and prove your mettle in your academic pursuits,” Mukhi said in a statement.