Mobiles in exam halls may put HS examinees in trouble

Kolkata: Ahead of higher secondary examination, the West Bengal Board on Saturday warned the students of stern punitive action if they are found carrying smartphones during the examination.

The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education president Mahua Das, while addressing a media conference, said that stringent action, including cancellation of registration, would be taken against students if any cell phone is found in their possession in the examination hall. The new move has been initiated after question papers of the Madhyamik exam were leaked, most of all the seven papers. The HS examination will begin on February 26 and continue until March 13. Around 8,16,243 candidates will take the examination. Interestingly, the number of female candidates taking the examination is higher than their male counterparts by 63,413. The class XI examination on the basis of the new syllabus will also be conducted simultaneously during the same period. Das added that there will be computer-generated numbers on each packet containing the question papers which will help the Council to track them. In addition to that, there will be a more effective manual tracking system in place. There will be around 713 HS examination centres across the state while the number of venue stands at 2,117. According to the press statement issued by the president, there will be a deployment of two Council nominees at each main venue. Apart from the venue supervisor, centre-in-charge and centre secretary, none will be allowed to enter the venue with mobile phones. The security arrangement has also been enhanced. The process of capturing video inside all the venues which was started from last year will also be done this year. A District Magistrate-nominated representative will be the venue-in-charge and supervise the examination procedure. For the first time, the WBCHSE has decided to deploy special Council nominee at 250 sensitive venues.