Two students caught filming Madhyamik question paper in West Bengal | Education
Two candidates were disqualified from sitting in the West Bengal Secondary Board-conducted Madhyamik exam on Friday after officials found that they had clicked photos of question papers and circulated those on social media, a senior board official said.
An estimated 9,23,045 candidates wrote the papers in 2,675 centres across the state during the day, board president Ramanuj Ganguly told reporters.
The exams commenced at 9:45 am, but soon after, purported images of the Bengali first-year question paper began circulating on social media platforms, he said.
In response, officials activated the code tracking surveillance system, introduced for the first time this year, and zeroed-in on the students, he added.
Within 20 minutes, two candidates from English Bazar and Lakhimpur in Malda were identified as having clicked the images, based on the unique codes embossed on each candidate’s paper, he added.
As a consequence, these two candidates, who were writing their papers in Raigram High School in English Bazar and Betrat High School in Lakhimpur, will no longer be permitted to complete their papers, the board chief said.
However, no criminal charges will be pressed against them due to their age and future, according to Ganguly.
The students are from Nagharia and Chamargram high schools in the district, he added.
Although this incident raised concerns about a potential question paper leak, Ganguly clarified that it could not be categorized as such since the images surfaced after the exam had begun, and there was no reason to cancel the first paper exams.
Teachers and guardians who viewed the images confirmed that they matched the original Bengali first-year question paper.
Additionally, invigilators seized gadgets like smartwatches and two android devices from three candidates at exam centres in Jhargram, Purulia, and Malda districts.
Despite this, these candidates will be allowed to complete the remaining papers, he said.
The board introduced the tracking method due to past incidents of fake images of various question papers circulating on WhatsApp.
