Question paper goof-up leaves MBBS, BDS aspirants miffed

Some serious errors in the question papers for the examination for MBBS and BDS aspirants in the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination (WBJEE), which was conducted on Wednesday, left the WBJEE Board red-faced and the examinees confused. Around 75,800 students gave the exam on Wednesday across the state. 

Most of the students said that the numbering pattern of the questions in the Physics and Chemistry paper were faulty, in which questions were seen starting from the number 41. The examinees also said that some questions in the Biology and Chemistry papers were not correct and need to be checked again.

It is to be remembered that the examinations for engineering and pharmacy courses by the WBJEE Board were conducted in May this year. But the examinations for medical and dental were postponed due to some legal issues. It was decided to conduct them a few weeks later. The WBJEE Board, however, acknowledged most of the faults in Wednesday’s examination process.

However, two fake examinees were caught by the examiners during Wednesday’s examination, who were giving the test in place of other students. One candidate was apprehended in Dum Dum in North 24 Parganas, while the other imposter was caught in Howrah. 

Meanwhile, the issue of faulty numbering of questions and incorrect questions came to the fore in second half of the examination. The questions in the Physics and Chemistry papers, which were of 50 marks each, were reportedly ambiguous.

“The numbering of the question was not done properly. It began with question number 41 and ended in 80 in case of the Physics paper. In case of the Chemistry paper, it was started with 41 again and ended in 80,” a source in WBJEE Board said.

“Students are using optical mark reading (OMR) sheet to answer the questions and have faced several problems in the examination hall. Some of them even raised protests,” he added.