Bhubaneswar, Feb. 22: Supervision of Plus Two and matriculation examinations are set to get tougher following widespread claims of paper leaks and mass cheating over the past few years.

The state government has already asked officials to strictly implement provisions of the Odisha Conduct of Examination Rules, 1988, to lend credibility to the examinations.

The Council of Higher Secondary Education will conduct the annual Plus Two examination between March 6 and March 28, while matriculation exams will be held between February 28 and March 10.

School and mass education minister Debi Prasad Mishra held a meeting with collectors of all districts via videoconference today to outline plans for the smooth conduct of the examination process. "Around 3,80,707 students from 1,504 colleges in science, arts, commerce and vocational education streams will appear for the exam, which will be conducted at 1,106 exam centres across the state," said the minister.

Around 6,05,064 students will write the matriculation exam from 2,938 centres. The evaluation process will begin from March 20 at 60 centres and conclude on April 2.

The school and mass education department has asked collectors to form squads in their respective districts and to curb malpractice at the centres. An elaborate guideline will shortly be dispatched to district police officials.

Installation of CCTV cameras at the examination centres to monitor the entire process is among the steps that have been taken. The government has also made arrangements to keep question papers at 202 hubs in different districts amid tight security.