Bhubaneswar, Sept. 11: About 70,000 students appeared for the High School Certificate (Matriculation) supplementary examination that commenced today.

The exams were conducted smoothly except for a few incidents of malpractice and untoward incidents reported from certain centres.

The exams, which will continue till September 24, were conducted at 277 centres across the state. Today, the students appeared for the Odia language paper in two sittings.

Around 55,000 regular and 12,000 ex-regular students are appearing for the supplementary examination conducted by the Odisha Board of Secondary Education (BSE).

The board is one of the few in the country that gives a second chance to students to clear the matriculation examination in the same year after the annual examinations are held in May.

Students who clear the supplementary exams, the results of which are likely to be out by October or November, will be allowed to pursue higher education in the ongoing academic session. This time, the authorities have worked overtime to ensure the safety of question papers.

The annual HSC examination held in March-April this year came under the scanner after question papers were stolen from an examination centre, forcing the authorities to suspend the ongoing tests. The exams were later rescheduled, causing a lot of inconvenience to the students. About 44 squads have been engaged throughout the state to ensure that the students did not resort to unfair means during the examination.

“We have tried to implement safety measures to ensure that the question papers are kept safely at the centres,” said a senior official.

“Also, staff members at the board level are trying their best to ensure smooth functioning and better coordination during the exams,” said board president Satyakam Mishra.

“A few incidents of malpractice have been reported. They are being compiled,” he said.

Controller of examinations Nimain Charan Swain said five students were caught cheating at Narsigighpur in Cuttack. More reports are coming in, he said