Maharashtra to frame SOP to curb university paper leaks, Minister Patil says

The Maharashtra government will formulate a standard operating procedure (SOP) to prevent examination paper leaks across state universities, Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil announced in Mumbai on Tuesday. Addressing an online meeting with the vice-chancellors of all public universities in Maharashtra, Patil stated that the SOP would be prepared using guidelines issued by the central government as a reference framework.

During the meeting, the minister directed the Higher and Technical Education Department to draft clear rules designed to eliminate instances of paper leaks. He instructed officials to issue a formal circular that clearly fixes responsibility on government officials and university employees if any security lapse or negligence occurs during the examination process.

Along with measures to curb paper leaks, Patil outlined several major administrative directives for higher education institutions in Maharashtra. He announced that the department is actively working toward establishing a uniform common academic calendar for all state public universities, scheduled to take effect from the 2026-27 academic year. The vice-chancellors were directed to prepare and finalise this common calendar within one week.

Furthermore, the minister asked the university leadership to formulate a detailed academic plan for the effective rollout of the four-year honours degree programme across the state. This implementation plan is targeted for execution during the 2026-27 and 2027-28 academic years.

To gain a better understanding of student issues and grievances, Patil advised all vice-chancellors to hold weekly meetings with at least 50 students. Following these interactions, universities will be required to submit periodic reports directly to the Maharashtra government. These reports must detail the specific problems raised by students alongside the actions taken by university administrations to resolve them.

Patil also emphasised the need for greater institutional collaboration by asking universities to form college clusters. These clusters are intended to increase the shared use of academic resources, including teaching staff, science laboratories, libraries, and other campus facilities.

Under the minister's instructions, universities must organise and conduct at least one cluster activity every month. To facilitate this process, Patil asked universities to study the existing cluster courses developed by the University of Mumbai and other institutions in order to prepare a common, quality-based cluster curriculum for the entire state of Maharashtra.