Despite elaborate arrangements made by the Odisha Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE) to curb malpractices in examination centres during the Plus Two examinations this year, unfair practices continued unabated during the ongoing examination that started on 1 March in Jajpur district.
After mass copy was reported in a section of press, central squads on Saturday cracked down on some examination centres and booked 15 students for adopting unfair means in the district. The examinees were caught red handed by the flying squads conducted by the CHSE.
“The examinees were found to be resorting to unfair practices at two examination centres while appearing for the optional subject of Education in Arts stream on Saturday first sitting,” said a member of the squad. Besides, huge incriminating materials were seized from them in the examination hall, he added.
According to sources, 10 students of Brahmabarada Mahavidyalaya in Brahmabarada under Rasulpur block and five students of Mantira College under Danagadi block were booked by the flying squad while they were indulging in malpractice.
Instances of copying were reported from various private colleges also. On condition of anonymity, a lecturer of a private college said, “We have been ensuring that the examinees enter the examination hall with only the admit card. But the teacher of each subject prepares answer of all the objective questions of about 70 marks and then dictates those to the examinees in the examination hall. This is safe from being caught by any of the flying squad.”
The invigilators in the examination halls even tried to shield students from the flying squad. The college authorities formed a ring around the college to prevent their colleges from being caught by the inspecting squad.
Even, in many examination centres, watch towers have been erected so that college employees keep a vigil on the movement of the flying squads on the roads connecting to the colleges. If they find any SUV on the road from the distance, they immediately inform the superintendent and all invigilators on duty collect chits from the examinees from being caught by the squad.
Though the government has imposed a ban use of mobile phones in the examination, many students have allegedly been found carrying mobile phones into the examination halls.
Sources further said many colleges have hidden information from the CHSE about their college employees’ wards appearing at +2 examination.
Wards of two employees of Brahmabarada Mahavidyalaya are appearing at the Science examination in the same college. Both the staff have allegedly been assigned examination duty. The college has reportedly not informed the CHSE about the two examinees.
As per the CHSE norms, any college employee cannot be assigned the examination duty if his/her relative is appearing at the same examination.