Bengal School Service Commission to hold fresh exam tomorrow amid tight security

Kolkata, Sep 6 (IANS) The West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) will conduct the Class 9 and 10 teacher recruitment examination on Sunday under tight security and transparency measures, an official said on Saturday.

Over 3.19 lakh candidates will sit for the test across more than 636 exam centres, while the overall number of applicants for the two phases of recruitment has crossed 5.65 lakh, said WBSSC Chairman Siddhartha Majumdar.

The School Level Selection Test (SLST) is being conducted to fill up 35,726 teaching posts for classes 9-10 and 11-12.

Addressing a press conference, Majumdar said: "If anyone attempts to resort to unfair means, they will be caught within 30 minutes. Each paper carries a unique security feature, and candidates' admit cards will be verified through barcode scanning. No one will be allowed to leave the hall until the exam is over."

Candidates have been strictly instructed to report to their centres by 10 a.m. Entry will close at 11.45 a.m., with the exam beginning at noon. Question papers will reach centres between 10 a.m. and 10.30 a.m. and will be distributed at 11.45 a.m.

Majumdar, however, could not clarify whether any tainted and ineligible candidate will sit in the exam.

In a veiled response, Majumdar said: "Every competitive exam and admit card is provisional. There is also an example where the results were not released after the Calcutta University exam. It turned out that there was some kind of glitch. But that is not the case."

The School Service Commission as per Supreme Court's order published the list of names of 1,806 tainted candidates who had got jobs due to recruitment scam.

These candidates have been barred from taking part in the fresh recruitment process. However, there are allegations that thousands of more tainted and ineligible candidates had got jobs due to the scam whose names have not been disclosed by WBSSC.

In that case Majumdar could not give response on whether such tainted candidates will appear in the fresh examination.

Meanwhile, in addition to frisking with metal detectors, separate enclosures have been set up for female candidates, who will be checked by women staff members.

Candidates are not allowed to carry phones, smartwatches, calculators, or opaque items.

Only transparent pens, folders, and water bottles will be permitted, though the SSC has also arranged pens at the centres. Additionally, venue supervisor and even SSC officials will not be allowed to carry their mobile phones after a point, and cannot go inside the exam hall with it, said Majumdar.

--IANS

sch/pgh