Braving Covid-19 fear, lakhs of students appeared in the matriculation board exam conducted by the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) across 1525 exam centres, which commenced on Wednesday.
Over 16 lakh students wrote science paper on the first day of board exam. BSEB shared that around 8.46 lakh students have been registered for taking exam in the first shift while 8.37 lakh students in the second shift.
Students were spotted queuing up outside the exam centres for sanitisation and frisking. Those who were not wearing masks were denied entry at Ravindra Girls’ High School and College of Commerce. However, they were allowed to enter after wearing masks.
Students shared that science paper was moderately difficult.
Anjali Kumari, who took exam at Bankipore Girls’ High School, said, “Questions were not easy. Biology and chemistry sections troubled me the most. I was unable to understand several questions. Overall, my exam was not up to my expectation. My study was hampered due to lockdown and school closure.”
Ankit Singh, who took exam at Shastri Nagar Boys’ High School, said, “Questions were moderate. I skipped complex questions and opted the alternate questions to answer better. Physics was a bit lengthy and time taking. I took help of online tutorials for board exam preparation during lockdown.”
“Questions were lengthy and difficult. I was confused as there were plenty of alternate questions. I missed 10 questions due to shortage of time”, sobbed Shivani Kumari, who took exam at KB Sahay High School.
As per BSEB notification, examinations in both shifts were held peacefully on Wednesday. The board has made tight security arrangements to prevent instances of cheating at all exam centres.
Anand Kishor, chairman of BSEB, inspected several exam centres including Ram Lakhan Singh High School, Government Boys’ and Girls’ High Schools (Shastri Nagar) to check security arrangements. “Security arrangements at exam centres were found satisfactory. As we provide pre-printed OMR sheets, it has become easier to catch impersonators. We provide 10 sets of question papers to prevent cheating among students, he said.
Altogether 82 examinees were expelled for using unfair means during exam while 15 impersonators were arrested across the state on day 1. Of expelled candidates, 21 were booked in Bhojpur,20 in Munger, 7 in Vaishali, six in Saran and 5 in Nalanda. Besides, five impersonators were caught in Supaul, four in Madhepura while two each in Bhojpur, Gaya and Jehanabad.
The board will conduct mathematics paper on Thursday.