The Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and its equivalent examinations 2019 began across the country this morning amid tough measures taken to check question paper leakage.

A total of 13, 51,505 examinees -- 6, 64,496 are male and 6, 87,009 female students -- from 9,081 educational institutions are scheduled to appear in the examinations started at 10:00am under 10 education boards across the country.

A total of 11, 38,747 candidates will set to sit for the examinations from eight general education boards while 88,451 under the Madrasa Education Board and 1, 24,264 from the Technical Education Board.

This year, 40,048 candidates have been increased comparing to the previous year.

Besides, 275 students are set to appear in the examinations from eight overseas centres. Candidates with physical disabilities will receive an additional 20 minutes in the examinations while the examinees with special needs, including those with autism, will get 30 additional minutes.

All the examinees have been asked to take their seats in the examination centres 30 minutes before the examinations begin.

The written examinations will continue until May 11 while the practical examinations will be held from May 12 to May 21.