Odisha takes strict measures to prevent paper leaks, malpractices during Class 10 board exam

NEW DELHI: The Board of Secondary Education (BSE) in Odisha is set to introduce stringent measures to prevent question paper leaks and malpractices in the upcoming matriculation (Class 10) board examination, an official said on Thursday.

Also known as the High School Certificate (HSC) examination, the fortnight-long event in the state's academic calendar is scheduled to begin on February 21. Addressing a press conference here, BSE President Srikant Tarai said the Board has incorporated advanced security features such as QR codes, watermarks, and unique serial numbers on question papers to maintain integrity and confidentiality.

An advanced digital locking system with password-protected locks, GPS tracking and a triple-layered access mechanism has been introduced to secure question paper transportation. Special squads will also be deployed to monitor it, Tarai said.

The matriculation examination which will continue till March 6 will be conducted daily from 9 am to 11 am in a single sitting. Question papers will be distributed to examination centres between February 12 and 19, he said.

5,10, 778 students to appear for Odisha board 10th exams

A total of 5,10, 778 students will take the exam across 3,133 examination centres across the 30 districts of the state.

Tarai said these measures aim to prevent leaks and malpractices that have plagued examinations in the past years. The introduction of unique serial numbers on each question paper will allow authorities to swiftly track leaks to the source and take corrective actions, he added.

He said that to enhance security, all examination centres will be equipped with CCTV, and the live streaming system introduced last year will be expanded to 600 centres. The digital locks on question paper containers can be controlled centrally from the BSE office, using secure passwords or specialized chips at designated centres.

Any tampering attempt will trigger an instant alarm at the BSE control room, allowing real-time monitoring and swift action, Tarai said.