Ensure tight security around board exam centres: Bukhari

Jammu, February 21

There will be adequate deployment of police at all centres during the annual Classes X and XII exams of the J&K Board of School Education (JKBOSE) for the summer zone.

Further, special identity cards will be issued to the supervisory staff to ensure complete check on the outside interference. This was decided at a high-level review meeting chaired by Education Minister Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari and co-chaired by Minister of State for Education Priya Sethi today. Bukhari said as per the past practice, Section 144 would be imposed around the examination centres with adequate police deployment. As an additional measure to minimise the outside interference, classes in the schools housing examination centres would remain suspended on the exam days.

The Education Minister said there would be zero tolerance for unfair means and strict action would be taken against those encouraging copying. He said J&K had a clean record regarding the conduct of exams and the attempt to degrade the system would not be tolerated. Citing an incident of attack on a special squad team during an inspection visit last year, he said the government had decided to withdraw the centre from the area and had initiated legal action against the attackers to send out a clear message that such acts would not be tolerated. Calling upon the board to take all measures to ensure smooth and fair conduct of exams, Sethi asked the board authorities not to repeat the invigilators and other supervisory staff from last year. She also directed issuing of special I-cards to the exam supervisory staff to keep the unscrupulous elements away from the examination centres. Farooq Ahmed Shah, secretary, School Education, asked the board authorities to ensure timely supply of examination papers and stationery to far-flung areas. It was decided that the board would hire helicopters, if required, to deliver examination material to snow-bound areas. As many as 37,853 aspirants will appear in Class XII exams at 345 centres, while 554 exam centres have been set up for Class X examination. — TNS