A student writing the just-concluded Madhyamik examinations allegedly used an artificial intelligence (AI) app to solve a mathematics question on his smartphone, a senior official of the state secondary education board said on Saturday.

The student was caught while using the prohibited device at the examination centre on February 15.

He was barred from writing Madhyamik further.

Madhyamik, which started on February 10, ended on February 22.

The official said the student downloaded an AI-enabled app on his smartphone and sneaked in with the device at the centre.

Usually, students entering the exam centre with phones capture the image of the question paper and WhatsApp the same to their tutors, the official said.

The tutors enrolled with coaching centres provide the solutions and send then back to the examinees on the same social media platform, said a board official.

“But the case in a Calcutta school stands out because here the student did not send a
grab of the question to any outsider seeking help. He tried to solve the problem with an AI-enabled app loaded on his mobile. This seems new,” the official said.

The student was one hour into writing the examination when he was caught.

This year, the board has debarred 20 students on charges of entering the examination centres with their phones or smartwatches.

Such instances of students entering the examination centres with banned devices have triggered a debate on whether the board should think of using metal detectors to scan examinees.

The board had earlier rejected the proposal because many felt subjecting children to such scrutiny would be unfair.

The state higher secondary council has decided to use metal detectors in all the 2,100 examination centres from this year.

The move by the council aims to prevent students from entering the HS examination centres with their phones, smart watches or any other banned device.

“There is also an implementation hazard at the secondary level, considering that more than 10 lakh write Madhyamik. The number is less than half at the higher secondary level. If we start scanning Madhyamik examinees with metal detectors, we have to open the centres at 6am, at least five hours before the start of examination,” board president Ramanuj Ganguly told The Telegraph.