HS exams begin, one student debarred for carrying mobile

Dipali Sen | MP | 13 Feb 2026 | Kolkata: The first day of the Higher Secondary examinations passed off smoothly on Thursday, with only one candidate caught with a mobile phone, West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education president Chiranjib Bhattacharya said.

The examinations began with the first language paper. About 7.1 lakh candidates are appearing for the tests from February 12 to 27 across 2,103 venues under three systems simultaneously. On the first day, attendance was above 99 percent, with less than one percent absent, Bhattacharya said.

Semester IV candidates wrote from 10 am to 12 noon, those under the old annual system from 10 am to 1.15 pm, and the Semester III supplementary examination was held from 1 pm to 2.15 pm.

Only one candidate was caught with a mobile phone at a centre in East Burdwan district during the Semester IV examination. The student from Maldanga RM Institution, appearing at Monteswar Sati Krishnamoni Girls’ High School, had the device seized and the Semester IV enrolment cancelled. The candidate will not be allowed to sit for the remaining papers and will have to clear all subjects through supplementary examinations next year.

Bhattacharya said there were no reports of question paper shortages, accidents or other untoward incidents. He said feedback from candidates and subject experts indicated that the question paper was easy.

Several Semester IV candidates described the paper as manageable. Some students, like Arghya Ghosh and Soumyajit Majumdar of Laban Hrad Vidyapith, said months of MCQ practice had reduced their writing speed and the sudden switch to long written answers with a large syllabus was challenging. Students and guardians alleged that BLO duties kept many teachers away from classrooms. Bhattacharya said the examination schedule had been advanced because of the upcoming Assembly elections. Language textbooks are issued yearly for both semesters and should not have caused problems.