Around 8.13 lakh candidates are set to appear for the State-Level Selection Test (SLST) on Sunday, marking the return of non-teaching recruitment exams in Bengal after a 10-year gap.

The test will shortlist candidates for 2,989 Group C (clerk) posts in state-aided secondary and higher secondary schools. Another round of tests for Group D (peon) posts is scheduled for March 8.

Among those writing the exam are 1,244 untainted Group C staff who were sacked following a Supreme Court order and now have to qualify afresh to retain their jobs.

They are excluded from the list of 3,512 tainted non-teaching staff barred from the fresh selection process.

On April 3, the Supreme Court terminated the jobs of 17,206 teachers and 8,544 non-teaching staff.

The exam is being conducted under tight security and with transparency measures not seen in earlier editions.

A breakdown:

Venues: 1,693 centres set up across the state, each monitored by an observer from a college or university

Exam time: Noon to 1.50pmReporting time: Candidates must arrive by 11.45am. Candidates can start entering centres from 10am. They will be frisked, so it is better to come early, SSC chairperson Siddhartha Majumdar said.

Security measures: The SSC has prohibited candidates from wearing “shoes or boots” during the tests. The candidates can only wear slippers or flat sandals, the commission said in the instructions printed on admit cards.

An SSC official said the move was aimed at preventing candidates from sneaking in mobile phones or other electronic devices — a practice that the National Testing Agency has introduced in all-India exams like theNEET.

“Although each candidate will be frisked before entering the exam centres, we are exercising caution as over 8 lakh candidates will write the tests. If candidates come wearing only slippers or flat sandals, this lessens the possibility of using unfair means,” the SSC official said.

Explaining what prompted the shoe restrictions, the official said that during the just-concluded Madhyamik, many candidates were caught sneaking mobile phones concealed in their shoes.

“Their exams were cancelled by the secondary education board,” the official said.

Candidates will be frisked using hand-held metal detectors in the presence of police personnel to prevent the entry of electronic devices or prohibited items.

Mobile phones, any watches, calculators, log tables, and other gadgets are banned. All centres will have wall clocks.

Possession of any prohibited item will lead to immediate disqualification.

Items allowed: Candidates must carry their admit cards (downloaded from the SSC website and bearing a barcode), a photo ID card such as Aadhaar, and only transparent black or blue ballpoint pens. Transparent water bottles are permitted. Venue-in-charges have been instructed to keep extra pens.

Facilities: Each centre will have a cloakroom for candidates to deposit valuables in exchange for a token. There will also be designated enclosures where women candidates will be frisked by female personnel.

Loudspeaker ban: The guidelines issued by the education department stress strict enforcement of the ban on the use of loudspeakers near exam centres.

“It is to be ensured that the ban on the use of loudspeakers in the vicinity and proximity of the examination centre/venue, as per extant law, is enforced during examination hours,” the circular states.

The guidelines also say that photocopy centres near the exam venues must remain closed.

Power supply: The department of power and non-conventional energy has been told to issue instructions to district-level officers to ensure an uninterrupted power supply at the exam venues.