The state higher secondary council has instructed examination centre supervisors to “make strict usage” of metal detectors for “frisking purposes” to prevent examinees from carrying mobile phones and electronic devices into the centres.

Council president Chiranjeeb Bhattacharya has asked the centre secretaries to distribute “one metal detector per examination centre”.

The council, which used handheld metal detectors only in select sensitive centres till last year, has decided to provide metal detectors in all 2,100 centres.

“The supervisors are advised to make strict usage of the metal detector for frisking purposes and to prevent carrying any kind of mobile phone/ electronics devices by the examinees inside the examination centre,” says a notice issued on Friday.

In the just concluded Madhyamik exams, where the candidates are not scanned with metal detectors, 20 students were caught with mobile phones or smartwatches.

The Class XII school-leaving examination will start on March 3 and continue till March 18.

“We want to ensure the examination is conducted in a free and fair way,” said council secretary Priyadarshini Mallick.

Education minister Bratya Basu said on March 1 last year that he wanted handheld metal detectors to be used at “more” higher secondary examination centres from 2025 to prevent students from entering the premises with mobile phones or other electronic communication devices.

The minister said this after the council cancelled the HS examinations of 41 candidates on charges of entering the exam centres with mobile phones.

A council official said that of the 2,341 exam centres across the state, metal detectors had been provided to only 176 identified as sensitive last year.

This meant most of the centres did not have any proper scanning.

Friday’s notice says the council will distribute centre-wise metal detectors and ID cards for the centre secretary and centre-in-charge from the distribution centres on February 27.

“The centre secretaries are requested to return the metal detectors within 10 days of the completion of the HS examination at the same distribution centres..., “ says the notice.

The council has enclosed the list of the distribution centres for metal detectors in its notice.

“In spite of all these precautions, if any examinee is caught with any prohibited items in the venue/ examination hall, his/her entire examinations will be cancelled,” said a council official.