Malda: Malda is all set for the Higher Secondary examination to be held from February 16 till 29 in 131 venues in all over the district. Among these venues under 19 centers, 56 have been marked as sensitive venues owing to past records and District Intelligence Bureau (DIB) reports. The maximum number of sensitive venues fall under Kaliachak, Manikchak and Ratua.
The total number of students appearing for the exam is 42312 including 24385 girls in the Malda district.
Notably, these areas have also been in news during the recently-concluded Madhyamik examination for carrying mobiles into the examination halls and leaking the photos of questions papers. For these acts, cancellation of many candidates has been done by the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) by identifying the offenders through the serial numbers of the question papers or scanning the QR code embedded in the papers. Similarly, West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Examination (WBCHSE) has also introduced serial numbers of the question papers to be written by the candidates in their respective answer sheets to identify the culprit if any mischief is done though there will be no QR codes.
Further, these sensitive venues will also have Radio Frequency Detector machines to spot mobile phones. These 56 will have 2 such nominees in each of them.
To keep the examination fair and transparent, every venue will construct a 3-membered mobile team to search for mobiles illegally entered into the school. Joynendra Pathak, joint convener of the examination in Malda, said: “We have 20 RFD machines to distribute in the very sensitive venues to be chosen very carefully. The Health department is also very active to assist the examinees. One ambulance per centre has already been allocated. We are determined to keep the examination fair and transparent in the district. “