Bihar class 10 board exams begin today, students not allowed to wear shoes and socks

More than 17 lakh class 10 students will appear for the Bihar board examinations starting on Wednesday. The examinations will be conducted at as many as 1426 centres across the state. However, the guidelines for the examinations has sparked a controversy even before the beginning of the papers.

According to the guidelines issued by the Bihar School Examination Baord (BSEB), students have reportedly been asked to not wear shoes and socks while appearing for the examinations. This is being done in a bid to avoid any cheating in the exams.

Authorities were quoted my media reports as saying that such practices have already been in place in some other competitive examination, defending the stand taken by the BSEB. The students have been advised to wear slippers while appearing for the exams.

Besides, the guidelines also say that students will be allowed to enter the examination centres only till 10 minutes before the papers begin. If they fail to turn up in the stipulated time, they will not be allowed to appear for the paper.

In a bid to ensure smooth and transparent board examinations, the authorities issued guidelines to all officials, including invigilators and ground workers.

Each examination centre has been equipped with 3 CCTV cameras. Also, there will be one video camera for every 500 students in the examination centre.

The examinations will be conducted in two sittings every day – morning session from 9.30 to 12.45 and evening session from 2 to 5.15.