West Bengal will use India Post to transport question booklets and OMR sheets for the third-semester Higher Secondary examinations, replacing the earlier system that relied on Indian Railways and bringing a revised security chain to 2,105 examination centres.
The examinations are scheduled to begin on Monday, with 7.2 lakh candidates expected to appear for the third-semester, or first-part, Higher Secondary examinations. The number is up from 6.6 lakh candidates last year, according to the information reported by the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education.
Mosiur Rahaman Sardar, president of the council, said the partnership with India Post was intended to ensure the smooth transit of answer sheets and question papers while tightening security around confidential examination material.
Under the previous arrangement, question papers and answer sheets were transported through Indian Railways. Working with the local administration and council officials, the material was delivered to designated custodians. On each examination day, the venue supervisor collected the question papers and took them to the examination venue under police protection.
The revised process will place India Post at the centre of the last-mile movement of the confidential material. Before the examinations, question papers will be handed over to custodians at the nearest post offices. The arrangement is intended to streamline the movement of the material before it reaches examination venues, while continuing to involve local administration and council officials.
The scale of the exercise makes the logistics significant. The examination will be conducted at 2,105 venues, with each centre serving candidates under a common timetable from 11 am to 12.30 pm. The movement of question booklets and OMR sheets therefore requires coordination between the council, postal officials, local administration, custodians, venue supervisors and the police.
The council has also ordered security measures at the examination centres. Metal detectors will be installed at every venue to frisk candidates as they enter. The measure will operate alongside the arrangements for the secure delivery and custody of question papers before each examination.
The shift from railway transport to India Post changes the public agency responsible for transporting the confidential material, but the council’s stated objective remains the same: to secure the examination supply chain from custody to delivery at the venue. The examinations are due to begin on Monday across the 2,105 centres in West Bengal.
