‘All Higher Secondary exam centres to be equipped with handheld metal detectors’

Kolkata: The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) will equip all higher secondary examination centres with handheld metal detectors to prevent students from bringing mobile phones and other electronic devices into exam halls, the Council president announced.

In 2024, the Council provided 176 sensitive exam centres with handheld detectors. Despite this, 41 candidates were found with mobile phones, leading to the cancellation of their exams. To address this issue, the Council will expand the use of detectors to all exam venues in 2025, which will include approximately 2,300 venues. “We will now provide metal detectors to all the venues,” stated WBCHSE president Chiranjib Bhattacharya. Additionally, Radio Frequency Detectors (RFDs) will be used at select centres.

The 2025 HS exams are set to begin on March 3 and end on March 18, marking the last annual HS exams before transitioning to the semester system from September. “We are introducing some new aspects to ensure a smooth transition from the old system to the new,” Bhattacharya added.

To avoid confusion over exam centres, admit cards will have the exam venue’s name printed on them. QR codes and question serial numbers will feature on question papers as last year. The Council president assured that issues with printing serial numbers will be addressed and additional security features will be communicated later.

The WBCHSE has begun district-level meetings to inform officials about these measures. The first meeting took place in Siliguri on November 25.