No phones in examination halls during Madhyamik

The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education has recently issued a circular which prohibits the teachers and non-teaching staffs to carry their cell phones inside the examination halls where Madhyamik examination would take place. According to the circular, the teachers will neither be allowed to carry their phones inside nor to deposit their phones in the headmaster’s office after switching them off. Till last year, the teachers were allowed to deposit their phones to the headmaster’s office before entering the exam halls. The board has also instructed the schools to ask its teachers and staff members to remain present at the institution till the examination gets over. The circular boldly mentions that no teachers or staff members are allowed to leave the premises of the exam hall till the exam gets over irrespective of whether they are invigilators or not. Kalyanmoy Ganguly, president of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education said, “Teachers and non-teaching staff will not be permitted to bring cell phones or wear smart watches during the examinations. Till last year, if any teacher or invigilator or any member of the non-teaching staff carried the device, it had to be deposited with the headmaster. They could collect the cell phone after the test. Even this will not be allowed this time”. He added, “Every teacher, invigilator or non-teaching employee will have to be present in the schools during the examinations. They won’t be allowed to leave the premises till the exams are over”. According to the sources, the board has come up with this strict circular in order to restrict the circulation of question papers while the examinations are on. Madhyamik 2020 examinations are scheduled to start from February 18.