‘No civic volunteers inside Madhyamik exam centres’

Kolkata: To ensure the integrity of the Madhyamik examinations, the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) has announced that no civic volunteers will be appointed for duties inside the examination centres. The exams are set to commence on February 10 and will continue till February 22.

However, civic volunteers will be allowed to perform duties outside the examination centres. Meanwhile, para teachers and contractual teachers will be excluded from invigilation and any tasks involving confidential exam materials.

WBBSE president, Ramanuj Ganguly, explained: “This is a standard measure to maintain transparency in the examination process. Civic volunteers and para teachers are often local individuals and there is community pressure on them to favour local students. We want to relieve them from such pressure and ensure a fair examination environment.”

In addition, teachers whose children or close relatives are appearing for the exam at the same centre will not be permitted to enter the examination hall, although they must remain present at the school. Once confidential exam papers are opened, no teacher, para teacher or school staff member will be allowed to leave the centre until the examination concludes.

Furthermore, strict measures have been implemented to control access to the exam centers. Guardians will not be allowed inside the centre and any adult attempting entry will be subjected to frisking by police. A Board official explained that in previous years, individuals have exploited emergencies to gain access to exam centres and distributed cheating materials.

However, students will not undergo police frisking. Instead, school staff will check them for mobile phones or other prohibited items.