BENGALURU: The Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) has clarified that there was no misuse of Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets in the recently held examinations for First Division Assistant (FDA) posts in various boards and corporations. The statement comes after a picture of the OMR sheet, including the question paper and hall ticket, was widely circulated on social media.
It raised questions, such as who has taken the photo and if it is a student, how does he have access to his phone while the exams are in progress. The other error seen was that the hall ticket which is to be signed by the invigilator, was signed without the photo of the candidate, which goes against the rules. The post also raised questions on the legitimacy of the exams conducted in various districts.
Ramya S, Executive Director, KEA, on Thursday stated that there was no case of an irregularity related to OMR sheets. She clarified, “Those who attempted to use Bluetooth while writing the examination were identified during the early hours of the examination and handed over to the police.” However, she refrained from accepting that there were incidents of misuse of OMR sheets.
Earlier, Ravishankar Malipatil, leader of the association for candidates appearing for competitive exams, claimed that over 300 candidates across the state have used Bluetooth devices to write the exams.