CUTTACK: As many as 582 candidates were booked for malpractice and Superintendents of two centres removed sparking fears of a repeat of 2011 examinations as the High School Certificate (HSC) exams got underway on Monday. Last year around 7,000 examinees were caught indulging in malpractice which created a dubious record.
Around 5,11,443 students, including 4.67 lakh, 38,613 and 6,400 in regular, ex-regular and Madhyama streams respectively are taking the exams across 2,384 centres in the State.
With the flying squads of the Board of Secondary Education (BSE) carrying out vigorous inspection of the centres to prevent a repeat of last year, 582 candidates were caught copying or resorting to malpractice. They, however, were mostly individuals and there was no instance of mass copying anywhere in the State on Monday, BSE president Satyakam Mishra said.
Jajpur and Bhadrak districts accounted for the most number of bookings with 76 and 81 cases respectively. The superintendents of two centres __ Dhanmandal High School and Litisargipalli High School __ under Boden block of Nuapada district had to be changed.
At three centres __ Basudevpur High School in Gopapur of Cuttack district, Joranda High School in Dhenkanal district and Sanamula High School near Boinda in Angul district __ public had created disturbances and tried to barge into the examination centres with mala fide intentions. They were stopped forcibly and the situation was controlled, he said.
The Board has requested the district administrations and the police to extend adequate deployment of police force at the centres at least during the exam days to prevent recurrence of such incidents. Secretary, School and Mass Education Department, Rajesh Verma has also written to all collectors and SPs in this regard.
The Section 7 of the Odisha Conduct of Examination Act, 1988, prohibits gathering of people within 100 metre of the centres at least two hours before the exams.