Microchip to prevent question leak in Secondary Examinations

The question paper packets of West Bengal Secondary Examinations, set to begin tomorrow, have been fitted with a microchip, which will send an alert to its server as soon as the seal is broken.

West Bengal Board of Secondary Education President Kalyanmoy Ganguly told reporters that the microchip will be put on a sticker on the sealed envelope containing the question papers.

"The specially designed envelopes will be GPS-enabled, enclosed by a seal. If the seal is broken, the data will be passed on to the central server at the control room at the Board office here," Ganguly said yesterday.

The question papers will be despatched from the main venue in each district to the examination centre by 10.30 am.

Once the venue supervisor opens the packet for sorting purpose by 11.15 am, the data will be relayed to the central server and the Board will crosscheck who received and opened the packet with its own list of names.

The invigilators at the examination centres will have to sign on the packets by 11.40 am, five minutes before the distribution of question papers, Ganguly said.

The steps will ensure that there were no malpractices or unfair means during the examinations.

The Board president said no electronic gadget would be allowed inside the examination halls.