WB not to reconsider teachers mobile ban at exam hall

Kolkata: The West Bengal government has turned down the plea of teachers to allow them carry mobile phones inside centres during the ongoing Higher Secondary Examinations, class 12 state board examination, to prevent possibilities of question paper leak. When he met representatives of teachers' associations of the state, some of them made a plea to reconsider the decision of West Bengal Higher Secondary Council (WBHSC) not to allow teachers carry mobiles inside the examination centres, Chatterjee said here.

"But I posed a counter query: who will own up the responsibility for a question paper leak? Who will take the responsibility if there is any incident?" the minister told reporters on Tuesday night after the meeting. He called upon the teachers to ensure that the rule was strictly enforced. The WBHSC had said, apart from the venue supervisor and the special council nominee, nobody else will be allowed to carry mobiles during the examination inside the centres. The WBHSC conducts the Higher Secondary Examinations.

Chatterjee reiterated that images of question papers shared on social media during the recent Madhyamik, the class 10 state board examination, was not a leak but an effort by some quarters to malign the state government. For the same reason, the organisations conducting state board examinations need to be alert so that the government is not subjected to unfair criticism, he said. The teachers' bodies were asked to be vigilant to stop any malpractices during and on the eve of the examinations, the minister said.

Asked about the directive issued by WBHSC to the candidates for appearing at the centre an hour before the start of the examination at 10 am, Chatterjee said, "The teachers' unions also brought this issue to my attention. But I am neither in favour of the decision, nor against it." "If I interfere into this decision and change it, what will happen if some incident takes place? And don't candidates living in far-flung areas, covering a distance like 65 km, leave early to reach the examination centre? Let the council explain its stance," he said. Chatterjee also advocated the need to accommodate the views of teachers' association representatives in conducting Madhyamik and Higher Secondary examinations from next year. Senior education department officials and presidents of two boards were also present at the meeting.