West Bengal Madhyamik exams 2022 begin; WBBSE bans net services in some areas

NEW DELHI: The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) will conduct Madhyamik or Class 10 board exams 2022 from today, March 7. This year, a total of 11,18,821 students will appear for the exam including 6,21,931 girls and 4,96,890 boys.

State chief minister Mamata Banerjee wished students on Twitter and said, "Best wishes to the Madhyamik Examinees, 2022. This is your first big exam in life. Remain confident, you are sure to achieve success. Appeal to all to cooperate in smooth conduct of the gigantic exercise. All the best, my dear students."

Best wishes to the Madhyamik Examinees, 2022. This is your first big exam in life. Remain confident, you are sure to achieve success.
Appeal to all to cooperate in smooth conduct of the gigantic exercise.
All the best, my dear students.

— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) March 7, 2022

In an unprecedented step, the West Bengal government has decided to temporarily suspend internet services on the days of Class 10 state board examination in some areas of the state to stop cheating, an official said.

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The move was necessitated in the wake of reports of purported leak of question papers via social media platforms from some exam centres in several districts including Malda and Murshidabad within an hour of commencement of exams in 2019 and 2020, an official of WBBSE told PTI on Sunday.

The WBBSE will conduct the exam which was not held last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The notice said intelligence reports have been received that internet transmission and voice over internet telephony may be used for "unlawful activities in certain areas over the next few days".

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WBBSE President Kalyanmoy Gangulytold PTI: "The board has no role in this issue. It is purely an administrative decision taken by the state secretariat." Ganguly, however, said no question paper leak had taken place in 2019 and 2020 Madhyamik examinations as the "leaked" papers did not tally with the original ones.