CHENNAI: Following board exam question papers leak through WhatsApp last year, teachers are banned from using mobile phones at exam centres and collection-cum-distribution points this year.
The Tamil Nadu Director of Government Examinations, N Vasundra Devi, has announced that strict action would be taken against teachers and examiners if they used mobile phones or other communicative devices on the premises of the board examination centres.
This decision has come against the backdrop of four higher secondary school teachers from Hosur, Krishnagiri clicking photos of board exam question paper (mathematics) and leaking them ahead of the exam through WhatsApp.
The directorate has also announced through a circular that even exam invigilators would also be not allowed to use mobile phones within the hall.
This announcement was officially made, exactly a day before the Class XII State Board exams begin.
Nearly eight lakh regular students and 40,000 private candidates from Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry are expected to take exams that will go on till April 4. Out of this, close to 5.56 lakh students have Tamil as a medium of instruction. A total of 2,386 exam centres have been setup across the State including 410 centres in Chennai. Also, 106 prison inmates from Puzhal, Tiruchy and Palayamkottai prisons would attend HSC exams.
The directorate has advised all personnel in charge of exam centres to ensure that differently abled students were allotted space in halls on the ground floor to facilitate easy mobility. Around 800 scribes have been appointed by the government to help these students.
For the first time in the State, do’s and don’ts were printed along the hall ticket instead of answer scripts so that students need not waste time in reading them at exam halls.
The examiners and invigilators have been instructed to ensure that the printed details in the question paper matched with those of hall ticket.
Police protection has been sought in all exam centres and answersheet, question paper collection-cum-distribution points. Along with them, 4,000 flying and standing squads would be deployed to ensure that no student was involved in malpractice.
Meanwhile, a section of teachers representing the TN High and Higher Secondary Headmasters Association (TNH&HSS) have petitioned the directorate, requesting it to form clear guidelines on appointing additional exam camp officers and other officials.