A group of higher secondary examinees thrashed some of the on-duty teachers in a school in Malda on Wednesday as teachers tried to frisk them before they entered the examination hall.

At least 12 teachers of the Chamagram High School, under the Baishnabnagar police station limits, suffered mild to moderate injuries in the attack. Six had to be treated at the primary health centre in Bedrabad.

Sources said that students of Kamditola High Madrasa, Char Sujapur High School and Parlalpur High School were appearing in the higher secondary examination from Chamagram High School.

A senior teacher of the school said examinees must be allowed to enter the exam venue only after proper frisking so that they could not carry smartphones and paper chits. This is being done to prevent the students from adopting unfair means as they write their papers.

“Today (Wednesday), on the second day of the exam, some students of the Kamditola High Madrasa started misbehaving with teachers when they were being frisked. They started yelling and shoved the teachers frisking them. When other teachers rushed to manage the situation, examinees turned violent and thrashed the teachers," said the teacher.

Another injured teacher said examinees assaulted even those teachers who were not engaged in frisking. "They rained punches on us," he said.

As the news spread, a large contingent of police rushed to the exam venue to control the situation. Some teachers who got injured were sent to the local health centre.

The school authorities informed the district inspector of schools and joint conveners of the examination monitoring committee in the district appointed by the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Examination (WBCHSE).

The incident occurred at a time when Chiranjib Bhattacharya, the WBCHSE president, was on a visit to the district. on Wednesday, he visited some exam centres across Malda.

“What happened at Chamagram High School is a stray incident. But we have taken a serious note of it. Frisking is essential to maintain the sanctity of the exams and it will continue,” said Bhattacharya.

"We have sought a report in this regard from the district education department and the exam monitoring committee in Malda," he added.

District education department sources said that after the HS exams are over, the Kamditola High Madrasa headmaster would be summoned to Calcutta for an explanation.

In Malda, there are hundreds of privately run residential educational coaching centres.

Students of these centres get themselves registered with the WBCHSE through affiliated and recognised schools in the district. It is suspected that the attackers are students of such coaching centres appearing in the HS exam as students of the madrasa.

“Since these students pay hefty sums as fees to residential private coaching centres, the centre owners try to help them score better in the board exams through unfair means. The education department, the boards, and the council should take strong steps to prevent such practices," said a teacher.