Kolkata: The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) has cancelled the entire exams of two students caught with mobile phones on Wednesday, taking the total number of such cases to three.
This year, WBCHSE has adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards mobile phone use in exam halls. To enforce this, all 2,089 examination centers have been equipped with handheld metal detectors, and students are frisked daily before entering the exam centers.
The first incident occurred on March 3, when a candidate was caught with a mobile phone, leading to the cancellation of their entire exams. While no such cases were reported on the second day, the issue resurfaced on Wednesday.
One student from Manglapur Sarat Chandra Sikshaniketan High School at West Midnapore was caught at Banerjee Danga High School, while another from Gazoldoba High School at Jalpaiguri was found with a mobile phone at Adarsh Vidyalaya Hindi High School. WBCHSE president Chiranjib Bhattacharya revealed that the Jalpaiguri student smuggled the mobile phone inside despite frisking. “The candidate was not detected by the metal detector as the device was smuggled in with assistance. They were caught inside the bathroom while trying to take pictures of torn question paper pages but failed to send them outside,” he said. Meanwhile, in Malda, a group of students from Kamditola High Madrasah allegedly assaulted teachers at Chamagram High School (Kaliachak Block 3), protesting against frisking with metal detectors.
“Several teachers, including the headmaster, were attacked. CCTV footage has been handed over to the District Administration, and seven students have been identified,” Bhattacharya said, adding that their answer scripts will be sent separately for review.
“I will summon the headmaster and the students involved after the exams. These students may be Reported Against (RA) for violating exam regulations,” he added.