West Bengal MBBS exams will be conducted under strengthened security and surveillance measures from Thursday after examination centres reportedly failed to carry out mandatory frisking or provide central CCTV monitoring during the first theory paper.
The second professional MBBS theory examinations began on Wednesday under the West Bengal University of Health Sciences (WBUHS). The university’s standard operating procedure required security checks and monitoring arrangements at examination centres, but students and faculty members reported that these measures were not fully implemented.
A student at a Kolkata medical college told Sanmarg that candidates were asked to switch off their mobile phones before entering the examination room, but no handheld metal detector was used to check them. The student also said there was no central CCTV monitoring during the three-hour examination.
A principal of another medical college raised similar concerns, saying the absence of frisking and central surveillance could affect confidence in the examination system. Students and teachers sought immediate intervention from the state government to ensure that the prescribed procedures were followed at all centres.
Following the reports, the state health department and WBUHS directed examination centres to strengthen security arrangements from Thursday. Four male and four female personnel will be deployed at each centre to check candidates using handheld metal detectors. Separate arrangements will be made for checking female students.
The revised instructions also require question-paper deliveries to be monitored through CCTV. Cameras are to be installed inside examination rooms as part of the digital surveillance system. According to a senior health department official cited by Sanmarg, the measures were taken on the instructions of Health Minister Shardwat Mukherjee. The university will bear the cost of frisking and digital monitoring.
The disruption was linked to an administrative gap in the surveillance contract. A health department official said the contract of the agency previously operating the digital monitoring system had ended, while the process of appointing a replacement agency had not been completed. The delay left the examination system without the planned monitoring arrangements when the theory papers began.
The secretary-general of the Association of Health Service Doctors said the examination controller’s office had informed stakeholders that digital surveillance and frisking would be implemented from Thursday. The WBUHS had also formed a six-member committee to review medical examinations after the RG Kar movement.
The theory examination began with the first pathology paper. Pharmacology and microbiology theory papers are scheduled between November 2 and 6, followed by oral and practical examinations from November 13 to 27. The new security and surveillance arrangements are expected to apply to the remaining examination schedule.
