Jalpaiguri, Feb. 22: Bengal lost a “B-school” last evening but Dilruba Parveen can now hope to continue her studies without nursing a swollen arm.

Bees had built at least 11 honeycombs at Mudipara Nagendranath High School in Jalpaiguri’s Rajgunj and were staging sting attacks inside classrooms, forcing students to flee with books covering their faces. On Thursday evening, a group of forest workers finally arrived at the school and destroyed the hives.

The bee raids had spread such panic that it clouded preparations for the board examination starting this week. Officials were worried if they would be able to mark out the benches.

Teachers said the bees, attracted by fields of mustard flowers nearby, have been building the honeycombs in the classrooms and verandah for the past one month.

Dilruba, a Class XI student who was stung on her right arm, said classes had become irregular. “It was painful. My mother put lime on the area after removing the sting. I was feverish the rest of the day,” she said.

Azhar Ali, a student of Class VII, said whenever there was a bee attack, he and his friends rushed out of the classroom, even if is in the middle of a lesson.

“We had called some local people and had removed seven of the 11 hives but the bees rebuilt them,” said Balendranath Roy, the secretary of the school’s managing committee. He said sometimes kites swooped in and attacked the hives, stirring the bees and sending them flying into the classrooms.

Barendranath Roy, the headmaster, said: “The exams start on February 24. We have not been able to start numbering the seats because of the bees. I have serious reservations about the safety of the examinees if the hives are not removed.”

He said the school had informed the forest department last Monday.

Divisional forest officer of Jalpaiguri Kalyan Das said though the school had appealed to him first, the area where the school is located is not under his jurisdiction.

He said bees build their hives within a 2km-radius of flowering mustard fields. “It is very common but I cannot say why they chose the school. The bees choose trees as well as houses to build hives,” Das said.