Madhyamik: Over 11 lakh students appear for their 1st language paper at 4,194 centres
KOLKATA/BALURGHAT: A total of 11,18,821 candidates wrote their first language papers at 4,194 centres across the state as Class 10 state board exams commenced on Monday. An official of West Bengal Board of Secondary Education said the first day of Madhyamik 'pariksha' (exam) passed off smoothly amid strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols as students sat for their paper from 11 am to 3.15 pm. The government temporarily suspended internet services in some areas of the state to thwart unethical practices, the official said.
Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee extended her best wishes to all examinees. "Best wishes to the Madhyamik Examinees, 2022. This is your first big exam in life. Remain confident, you are sure to achieve success. Appeal to all to cooperate in smooth conduct of the gigantic exercise. All the best, my dear students,"she tweeted.
No candidate was allowed to leave the centre for one hour and 15 minutes after the exam began. According to the official, CCTVs had been fitted in several centres across the state as speculation that some of the students had hidden textbooks and paper chits in the building did the rounds.
Several state ministers, including Aroop Biswas, Dr Shashi Panja and Sujit Bose handed over roses to the examinees and wished them success. In different areas, Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders and police officials handed over roses, water bottles and pens to the students. In Manicktala, TMC workers made arrangements to drop and bring back students to the respective examination centres located in Manicktala Assembly constituency area in auto rickshaws free-of-cost.
The students wore masks while hand sanitisers were provided by the examination centres. Arrangements were made in such a way that 20 students were allowed to sit in a room. Neither the examinees nor the teachers were allowed to carry any electronic gadget to the rooms. The students were not allowed to carry school bags. The clipboards had to be either transparent or a white paper needed to be pasted on the clip board. No incident of copying had been reported.
Amid tight security arrangements, Madhyamik examination started in South Dinajpur.
It may be noted that in South Dinajpur, about 19,448 candidates are appearing for Madhyamik this year.
Of them, there are 10,636 boys and 8,812 girls covering 82 venues.
