Copying from neighbour? No chance in Higher Secondary examinations

Somdatta Basu,TNN, Dec 28, 2014, , KOLKATA : In the next Higher Secondary examinations starting from March 13, 2015, candidates seated next to each other will find themselves answering question papers from different sets amid stricter invigilation. Half of the questions will be of the objective type.

Instead of a single invigilator, two or more teachers will be guarding the exam halls in HS 2015. The decision was taken in view of the new multiple-choice questions being introduced.

"There will be two invigilators in an examination hall if the number of candidates appearing is less than 50. Halls with examinees numbering between 50 and 70 will have three invigilators taking guard," said a senior official of the West Bengal Higher Secondary Council (WBHSC).

WBHSC has also decided to prepare separate sets of question papers for examinees to curb cheating. "The exam centres will also be given graphical representation of seating arrangements which will have to be followed from this year. Candidates seated beside each other will receive question papers from different sets," the council official said.

Last year, in a desperate bid to eliminate every possibility of mass cheating in the HS, the state government had installed video cameras in some vulnerable exam centres. CCTV cameras will be installed at sensitive examination centres this year, too.

The official added: "This year, 50% of the questions will be multiple-choice questions (MCQs). The remaining will be of the subjective type. MCQs will encourage students to start a discussion in the exam halls. Hence, we have decided to introduce the concept of multiple invigilators."

Humanities students will have 80-mark papers to answer, the remaining 20 marks being for project work. For science students, there will be a 70-mark written examination and a 30-mark practical examination. "The marks allocation may change in a few commerce subjects or according to syllabus. In the written portion, half the marks will be dedicated to MCQs and objective-type questions. The remaining will be dedicated to descriptive answers," said the source in the WBHSC.

Multiple invigilators will be introduced to ensure all booklets that examinees need to fill out are done without flaw. "This will also be the first time that more than one booklet is to be filled out in detail by candidates. The invigilators will have to authenticate each booklet. One invigilator may take longer to do so, which will delay the examination process. The booklets will have instructions written over them but the invigilators will also have to explain the instructions to candidates. This is also another reason for introducing multiple invigilators," added the source.