Kolkata: A three-tier security arrangement involving the state police, CRPF and CISF will be in place outside TCS Gitabitan in Salt Lake’s Sector V and other NEET examination centres across Bengal on Sunday as thousands of students retake the medical entrance examination amid heightened scrutiny following the paper leak controversy.
Sources said the National Testing Agency (NTA) have put in place an extensive security protocol for the June 21 re-test after the May 3 NEET-UG examination was scrapped over allegations of a multi-state question paper leak.
Candidates will undergo Aadhaar-based biometric verification at the examination centres. Facial recognition and live photography will also be used to prevent impersonation and the use of proxy candidates.
“Frisking has been stepped up as well. Students will pass through multiple layers of security checks, including metal detectors, with separate arrangements for male and female candidates. Mobile phones, smartwatches, calculators and all electronic gadgets will remain prohibited inside the examination premises. Mobile signal jammers are also being deployed to prevent communication from within and around the centres,” said a senior officer of Bidhannagar city police, who will also be part of the security ring.
Sources said, the security measures will begin even before the examination starts. On the day of the test, sealed trunks containing question papers will be opened only in designated strong rooms around 45 minutes before the exam. The process will take place in the presence of district administration officials and police personnel.
Surveillance during the examination will be carried out at several levels. CCTV footage from examination centres will be monitored by NTA control rooms, state and district administrations, the ministry of education and other designated central agencies. Officials said flying squads and observers will conduct surprise inspections, while a central command centre monitors live feeds from centres across the country.
The examination duration has been extended to 195 minutes to accommodate the additional checks. Candidates will not be allowed to leave the examination hall before the test concludes, a move aimed at preventing information from being passed outside while the exam is underway elsewhere. After the examination, OMR sheets will again move through a secured chain. The answer sheets will be sealed and escorted by CRPF and CISF personnel and kept under CCTV surveillance until they are packed and dispatched for evaluation.
Some of the other exam centres in Kolkata are Jadavpur University, Jadavpur Vidyapith, AJC Bose College, Binodini Girls School and South Suburban School.
At Jadavpur University, around 750 candidates will take the NEET exam at TEQIP building, the undergraduate (UG) Arts building and the Electronics department building. An official said out of five university gates, either two or three will remain open for candidates and invigilators. “The agency conducting the examination handles security outside the buildings where the tests are held. Biometric machines and security personnel will be stationed at the entry points. CCTV cameras will be installed inside the classrooms where the examinations take place,” a source said, adding, “The yoga day event could not be organised as we have the NEET exam. A similar event will take place before June 21.”
Many of the schools who were willing to participate in the yoga day programme at Red Road will not be able to make it as they have NEET exams at their schools. They will organise a small yoga day event on that day in the morning.
