Odisha Matric Exam: Summative Assessment-I begins at 3029 examination centres

Bhubaneswar: The Summative Assessment-I of Matric Exams conducted by the Odisha Board of Secondary Education (BSE) began at 3029 centres across the state, today.

Special squads have been formed to curb malpractice and to smoothly conduct the tests.

As many as 5,40,712 candidates will appear the tests this year. Similarly, 2,914 candidates will appear the exams in 108 centres for Madhyama and 7,181 candidates will appear the exams in 146 centres for Open School Certificate.

There are 316 nodal centres in place and the question papers have been kept under strict vigil.

Around 22 nodal centres have been setup in Maoist-infested areas, including seven police stations in Kandhamal, 10 in Malkangiri and five in Koraput districts. However, all the nodal centres are located within 10-kilometre radius of the respective exam centres.

Mobile phones will not be allowed inside the exam centres and district education officer (DEO) level squads will be pressed into service along with the central squad to prevent malpractice.