HS question paper packets to have computer generated barcode

The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education will have a computer-generated barcode on each packet to prevent any malpractices during the plus two board examinations beginning next week.

Council President Mahua Das told a press meet that apart from the barcode to track the higher secondary examinations question paper packets there will be manual tracking of the packets from this year.

"We are adopting these measures to prevent any unwarranted incident," Das said.

The higher secondary examinations will begin on March 27 and end on April 11.

This will be the second consecutive year that computer-generated barcode will be on each packet.

The manual tracking will ensure that the examination centre in-charge opens the packet in the presence of a special observer and sign a form which will be cross-checked by the council representative, she said.

She said the ban on mobiles will be more stringent from this year and only the special observer can carry one. A special invigilator chosen among three invigilators in each centre will be assigned to keep tab that no mobile was taken inside. The entire examination process will also be videographed, Das said.

In the just concluded Secondary examinations, WhatsApp images of physical science and life science question papers were circulated in some parts of the state during examination days but the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education had asserted these were question papers of previous years.

There were also allegations of a headmaster opening the mathematics question paper packet before the scheduled time at a centre in Jalpaiguri district.