Summary
The conveners are also to see whether the steel cupboard for storage of exam material in the principal’s room is under CCTV surveillance and whether the cupboard has a double locking system
The council that conducts the ICSE (Class X) and ISC (Class XII) exams has sent a list of parameters to conveners so they can check whether a school is fit to be an exam centre next year.
Some of the parameters are — the number of existing hall(s), room(s) proposed to be used by the school for the exam, seating capacity of each hall/room and whether each hall or room is equipped with CCTV cameras.
The conveners are also to see whether the steel cupboard for storage of exam material in the principal’s room is under CCTV surveillance and whether the cupboard has a double locking system. They also have to find out whether the school provides an almirah to the bank for storing question papers.
“...you are now requested to inspect all the schools proposed to be the examination centres under your convenership, as per the specifications listed... On completion of the inspection of each of these schools under your convenership, you are requested to submit your report...,” said the ISC circular.
After inspection, the convenors are to send an online report to the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE). The report is to be submitted by August 20.
The conveners are also to see if drinking water and toilets are available near the exam hall.
For ISC, conveners have to inspect whether the school has separate laboratories for physics, chemistry, biology, home science and biotechnology and if they are suitably equipped. They will see whether the school has a computer lab and the number of computers available for the candidates.
Several ICSE and ISC conveners said that earlier, they would inspect the schools in their zone during the exam and not so many months in advance.
“This inspection and sending such a detailed report to the council is new. Usually, we would inspect the schools during the exam,” said Pauline Mukherjee, an ICSE convener.
In the circular, the council said candidates and teachers should be under CCTV surveillance during the entire duration of the test.
The CCTV footage has to be preserved till the publication of the result.
“I had sent schools an outline of the requirements that the council expects from schools to be an exam centre. Schools must have CCTV coverage of the exam halls and have to make arrangements to preserve the recordings, which can be retrieved and sent to the council if required,” said Jayanta Banerjee, an ICSE convener.
“I have already inspected six schools in my zone and will send a report to the council once I complete the inspection. Regarding storing question papers in the bank, some schools provide the banks with an almirah and in places where there is a space constraint, they provide trunks,” he said.
In 2024, the ISC chemistry and psychology papers had to be rescheduled.
Last updated on 08 Aug 2024
