Schools, examination bodies and teachers? lobbies associated with two major school-leaving examinations, Madhyamik and Higher Secondary (HS), have made a common cause of preventing the disappearance of answer-scripts.

Wiser after last year?s fiasco, when scripts went missing from many examination halls, several city-based schools, examination bodies and teachers? lobbies are separately working on measures to avoid a recurrence.

?Among other responsibilities, protection of answer-scripts is one of the most important duties of all those associated with holding examinations like Madhyamik, that involve nearly 600,000 students. We are trying to be extra careful this time to prevent the disappearance of scripts,? declared Dibyendu Hota, president, West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, on Friday.

He admitted that some answer-scripts do go missing either from examination centres or from the custody of examiners almost every year.

The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education and the West Bengal Council for HS Education have decided to hold special briefing sessions for invigilators.

Realising that it is the students who suffer most when scripts get lost, many schools, too, have organised special interactive sessions with students and teachers.

?We will soon hold a series of meetings with our staff members to remind them of invigilation duties in the examination centres. Students will also be asked to follow guidelines when answer-scripts are in their possession in examination halls,? said Benny Thomas, headmaster, St Lawrence School.

The school guidelines for students are as follows:

• Do not forget to write your roll number on your answer-script

• Read carefully each and every instruction on the script

• Write your roll number on each extra sheet you take and attach them properly to the main sheet

• Do not leave the exam hall till all the examinees have submitted their scripts to the invigilators.

Krishna Damani of South Point High School said not a single script has gone missing so far from their school, but their routine briefings to teachers regarding their conduct during examinations have been bolstered.

Like the students, the invigilators, too, are being asked to follow the instructions by individual schools, as well as of the board and the council. They are :

• Close the doors of the exam halls immediately after students get in, when the final bell rings to start the exam

• Keep the doors closed till the exam is over

• After a headcount of examinees, note down the figure

• Count the number of students again when the exam is over and match the two figures with the number of scripts submitted

• Don?t allow any examinee to leave the hall until all the candidates submit their scripts.

Last year, the HS scripts of three St Lawrence School students disappeared from an exam centre in Tiljala. These were recovered from the EM Bypass the next day. In Midnapore, 10 persons died in a chain of incidents arising out of a confusion over missing HS answer-scripts.