Madhyamik: State bans Internet in selected areas on exam days

KOLKATA: West Bengal Board of Secondary Education has taken elaborate measures to prevent the students appearing for Madhyamik Examination to resort to unfair means. Internet services will be suspended in different areas across the state during the examination.

The move was necessitated in the wake of reports of purported leak of question papers via social media platforms from some exam centres in several districts, including Malda and Murshidabad within an hour of commencement of exams in 2019 and 2020, an official of West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) said.

The examination will start on Monday. Eleven lakh twenty thousand students will appear for Madhyamik examination, out of which 6.27 lakh students are girls and 5.59 lakh students are boys. The examination will start at 11.45am and continue till 3pm. The examination will be held on March 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15 and 16.

The notice said intelligence reports have been received that internet transmission and voice over internet telephony may be used for "unlawful activities in certain areas over the next few days". As assessment of the inputs "gives reason to believe that such unlawful activities are likely to occur in the absence of preventive measures", the administration has made the decision, it said.

Though the order did not specifically mention 'Madhyamik' examination, the area-specific clamp on the transmission of texts, images and videos will be in force from 11 am to 3:15 pm on March 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 - the time and dates of the class 10 board exam.

Internet facility will be suspended between 11.45 am till 3pm on all the days when the examination will be held in Malda, Murshidabad, North Dinajpur, Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Birbhum and Darjeeling. Jammers will be installed in the examination halls. No gathering will be allowed outside the school premises where the exam will be held. Phone calls and SMS services will not be curbed anywhere. According to a source, internet services were suspended on exam days earlier also but it was not announced.

WBBSE president Kalyanmoy Ganguly said: "The board has no role in this issue. It is purely an administrative decision taken by the state Secretariat."

Ganguly, however, said no question paper leak had taken place in 2019 and 2020 Madhyamik examinations as the "leaked" papers did not tally with the original ones.

"It was an act of mischief which failed to disrupt the process and we request all to bring to our notice any such act in future," he said. Even the parents will not be allowed to stay near the school premises. The district administration has been requested to intensify vigil in areas surrounding the school premises.