Mita Mukherjee
All schools under the state Madhyamik board in West Bengal have been asked to ensure that they install CCTV cameras wherever possible in all vulnerable areas on campus and make sure that the cameras are in working condition before the start of the 2023 Madhyamik (Class X ) board examination.
The move comes as part of measures planned by the board to tighten security in the schools during the ensuing Madhyamik examination to curb untoward incidents and stop students from cheating during the examinations.
Madhyamik 2023 will start on February 23 and continue till March 4.
The state government, after a series of incidents of alleged sexual assault on students, had prepared guidelines for ensuring safety and security of students in schools in 2018 in which it was made mandatory for every school to provide CCTV coverage wherever it is needed on the campus.
The board recently held an investigation in the schools which revealed that close to 60 percent schools in Kolkata have CCTV surveillance and less than 15 per cent schools in the districts have not yet installed cameras on their campuses.
“ We have issued a fresh notification reminding all the 9000 plus Madhyamik schools that it is a binding on them to adhere to the measure regarding extending camera coverage to almost all section of the schools before the start of the Madhyamik exam,” a senior official of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education told EducationWorld preferring anonymity.
Elaborating on what prompted the board to tighten security before the Class X board exam, the official said incidents leading to law and order problems were reported from several exam venues during Madhyamik in previous years. In most cases the troubles erupted when students were not allowed to copy answers. Sometimes insiders including school staff known to the examinees created trouble.
“We want every school to provide CCTV cameras so that we can avoid such disruptions during the board exam ,” the board official said.
In addition to CCTV coverage the board is also planning other steps to curb incidents of cheating during exams.
For example, a list of schools that are sensitive is being prepared and steps will be taken to ensure intense vigil on those premises.
In an unprecedented move the state government had suspended internet services at several places across the state during the Madhyamik examination during the 2022 exam to prevent students from adopting unfair means.
The move was necessitated in the wake of reports of purported question paper leaks through social media from some examination centres in many districts including Malda, Murshidabad within an hour of commencement of exams in 2019 and 2020.
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