After question papers of class 10 state board examination were "leaked" on social media, the authorities holding the class 12 examination Saturday warned students that their registration number could be cancelled if they carry mobile phones in examination halls.
The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) said examinees would also be checked with mobile detectors at the entrance of the hall and inside it.
The WBCHSE conducts the Higher Secondary (class 12) examination which will begin from February 26 and continue till March 13 across the state.
"We will take strong action if any mobile phone is found with students. We may even consider cancelling the student's registration altogether, and not just stopping him or her from writing the respective paper," WBCHSE president Mahua Das told a press meet here.
She said the venue supervisor and the special council nominee will carry mobile detectors at the entrance to check if anyone was entering the examination hall with mobiles.
In addition, there will be a special invigilator who will check if any candidate was carrying mobile inside the hall, Das said.
None will be allowed to go to the washroom within one hour of commencement of the examination at 10 am, and no candidate can leave the venue before 12.45 pm, Das said.
The duration of each examination will be 3 hours and 15 minutes including the time given to candidates to read question papers.
Das said there will be videography inside examination halls and bar code on every packet of question papers for tracking before opening the seal in front of venue-in-charge and venue supervisor in the respective centre.
There were reports that images of question papers were circulated on a social media platform within 30 minutes of start of examinations on all seven days of the just concluded class 10 state board examinations (Madhyamik). Images of six of the seven question papers tallied with the original.
Madhyamik examinees had also been barred from carrying mobile phones in the examination hall.
State Education Minister Partha Chatterjee earlier denied that there was question paper leak during Madhyamik, saying a question paper was considered leaked when it comes out before the commencement of the examination and not after.
The WBCHSE president called upon students and guardians not to be swayed by any rumour either on social network or in any other way during the examination.
A total of 8,16,243 students will appear for the Higher Secondary examinations this year.
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