Students appear for their board examinations in Bhubaneswar. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, March 21: Only three papers of the board examinations have been completed, but the number of examinees caught adopting unfair means has already surpassed last year’s figure of 2,046. On Day 3, 1,046 students were caught red-handed pushing the figure to over 3,300.

Out of those caught today, 126 candidates who had failed last year were found taking the test illegally at Janshakti High School, Pentha in Kendrapara. “Before we could reach the spot, they had fled,” said Satyakam Mishra, president of Board of Secondary Education (BSE), Orissa, which conducts the matriculation examination in the state. A teacher, Sricharan Das, who belonged to a school in Achyutpur, Jarka, was also suspended.

This year, 4.85 lakh students including 50,000 ex-regular students from 8,207 high schools, are taking the examination in 2,261 centres across the state. There are 19 circles and each circle inspector has nearly 70 flying squads for supervision at their disposal.

Besides this, another 122 squads have been formed, out of which 32 special squads have been engaged by the BSE to streamline the monitoring process. The centres have been instructed to display information prominently for students regarding the consequences of indulging in unfair means.

“Earlier, the squads were not very well organised, and that made it difficult to supervise the sensitive centres. This time around, apart from the squads attached to the circle inspectors, monitoring is being carried out both by the directorate of secondary education and us,” said Mishra.

Meanwhile, the state school and mass education department has launched two control rooms, whereby any person can pass on information regarding any mismanagement or misconduct during examinations.

“Accordingly, we can activate our squads in those areas. Due to such stringent measures, we have been able to detect so many cases of malpractice,” said Mishra.

On the first day itself, a total of 949 students were booked for adopting unfair means during the Oriya examination, while an assistant teacher in Kendrapara district was suspended for “dereliction of duty”.

Around 1,306 students were caught cheating during the English paper on the second day.

On the same day, 11 teachers and two centre superintendents in Dhenkanal, along with one teacher in Jagatsinghpur, were suspended for callousness while discharging their duties as invigilators and abetting malpractice.

The results of the students found guilty will be held and stern action, ranging from imprisonment for a maximum period of three months along with a fine between Rs 500 to Rs 3,000 (Section 9 of Orissa Conduct of Examination Act, 1988), will be initiated against them.

“The offenses are cognisable and non-bailable,” added the BSE president.

On the other hand, for teachers found guilty of dereliction of duty or facilitating malpractice, the punishment will vary from censure to dismissal from service.