Taking a leaf out of Bihar School Examination Board's (BSEB) successful introduction of bar coding of answer sheets in this year's Intermediate and matriculation examinations, Magadh University has decided to introduce similar answer sheets soon.

As a pilot project, the varsity will introduce the bar coding of answer sheets for its BEd entrance test scheduled on July 2. The Magadh University at its syndicate meeting held in Bodhgaya on Thursday gave the nod for the bar coding.

Vimal Kumar Singh, the examination controller at Magadh University, said: "The university has decided to introduce bar coding of answer sheets in its examination. In the initial phase we will implement it in the BEd entrance test followed by technical course examinations."

Singh said: "With the bar coding of answer sheets, use of unfair means during examinations will be checked. As bar code will be the only identification of answer sheets, evaluators checking them will have little knowledge whose copies they are checking." This would do away with brokers in the business of increasing marks by bribing teachers with money taken from students.

Magadh University, the state's biggest varsity, has more than 200 colleges affiliated to it in Patna, Gaya, Nalanda, Nawada, Aurangabad, Jehanabad districts.

As the varsity has strength of around 5 lakh students, middlemen in the business of increasing marks, have been very active on the varsity campus. The varsity will now issue tenders inviting agencies to supply bar-coded answer sheets.

Welcoming the decision, MU official Amarnath Pathak said: "The decision to introduce bar codes on answer sheets is a step towards transparency."

At Magadh University, there are 77 BEd colleges, including three government BEd colleges on the university campus. There are more than 7,500 BEd seats at the colleges under MU for which the varsity has received more than 26,000 applications.

The student fraternity, too, has welcomed the decision to introduce bar coding.

Subodh Narayan, a student of AN College and a BEd applicant, said: "The decision is a welcome step. After BEd degree was made mandatory for teaching jobs, BEd courses are in huge demand in Bihar. There are candidates who are even ready to cough up money for admission in BEd courses and in doing so there becomes a nexus of teachers, non-teaching staff and brokers who would admit candidates after taking huge money from them. Bar coding will stop this."