Nearly 6.6L students write first OMR-based HS exam; debut runs sans hitch

Kolkata: The Semester III examinations (Part-I) of Higher Secondary 2026 began on Monday with students writing their first paper on optical mark recognition (OMR) sheets, for the first time in a state board exam. The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) reported a smooth debut, with no untoward incidents across the state.

About 99 per cent of nearly 6.6 lakh enrolled candidates appeared for nine first language papers, including Bengali, English, Hindi and Urdu. Using the newly-introduced Day-Wise Absentee cum Attendance Records (DWAAR), the Council reported less than 1 per cent absenteeism, around 5,600 candidates. “The turnout was excellent, even better than previous HS exams,” said Council president Chiranjib Bhattacharya. Examinations began at 10 am after students were frisked with metal detectors. Parents waited anxiously outside several centres. “I was more nervous than my daughter because this was her first time using OMR,” said Suparna Pal of Nagerbazar, whose daughter appeared from Bidhannagar Municipal School. Students, however, appeared confident.

At the end of the exam, many examinees said they expected good scores. “The questions were simple. I should get more than 35 out of 40. The teachers had explained the OMR process clearly,” said Supriya Pandit of Sukantanagar Vidya Niketan. Sanjana Biswas of Bidhannagar Municipal School added: “We just had to be careful while filling the sheet. I am expecting 35-plus.”

Council president Bhattacharya and secretary Priyadarshini Mallick inspected Bhagabati Devi Balika Vidyamandir during the exam. “Students seemed accustomed to OMR and there were no complaints,” Bhattacharya said, adding that no cases of malpractice or mobile phones were reported anywhere in the state.

To allay concerns that OMR errors could invalidate papers, the Council allowed replacement sheets for mistakes in roll numbers, registration details or paper codes. “Normally competitive exams do not allow this, but we permitted replacements in case of errors since this is a public exam and for many it was the first time. At one centre, 10–11 replacements were made,” Bhattacharya said. Mallick noted that each centre was supplied with 30 extra OMR sheets per 100 candidates, which proved sufficient.

The Council announced that students would be able to access scanned copies of their OMR sheets after results, expected by October 31. “We will upload OMR images 72 hours after results are declared. Uploading beforehand could have delayed publication or proved unmanageable,” Bhattacharya explained.

Meanwhile, some parents urged the Council to extend the 75-minute duration for subjects such as mathematics and accountancy, where calculations take longer.