West Bengal Madhyamik exams 2020: The first language, Bengali examination was held Tuesday, February 18, 2020. Image source: Madhyamik examination candidates
Even as the West Bengal Board of Secondary Examination’s (WBBSE) took measures to prevent leaks of question papers, it seems the gaps remained. On Tuesday, the question paper of the first language (Bengali) allegedly went viral in an hour after the commencement of the Madhyamik or the Class X examination. The examination began around 11:45 am and the question paper, according to parents, surfaced in the social media around 1 pm. The examination concluded at 3 pm.
Once out of the examination centre, students were shocked to see the question paper being circulated on WhatsApp and other social media platforms. Debjani Roy, a Madhyamik student, said, “The image of the question paper being widely shared on the Whatsapp matched with the question paper handed over to us by the invigilator. We are shocked.”
Speaking to indianexpress.com, the board official said the investigation in the matter is underway and further action will be decided after receiving reports from exaination officials. They have requested everyone concerned to share the circulated images of the Bengali question paper with the board.”
The official added: “We need to first tally the paper. We will respond to this soon.”
In a bid to prevent incidents of malpractice, the board has this time taken strict measures, including restricting the use of smartphones for teachers. Only four appointed persons from the board — officer-in-charge, centre secretary, venue supervisor and additional venue supervisor — were allowed to carry any sort of electronic gadgets inside the examination centres. Last year, several incidents of question paper leaks were reported from various districts in West Bengal.