The examination was held from 11am to 3.15 pm following all Covid protocols. No candidate was allowed to leave the examination hall for one hour and 15 minutes after the exam began.

An official of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education said that the first day went off very smoothly.

The person also informed that CCTVs have been fitted in several centres across the state as speculation that some of the students have hidden textbooks and paper chits in the building did the rounds.

The government has also temporarily suspended internet services in some areas of the state to thwart unethical practices, the official said.

The move was necessitated after the purported leak of Madhyamik question papers on social media platforms in 2019 and 2020 by some exam centres in the state’s Malda and Murshidabad districts.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee extended her best wishes to all examinees.

“Best wishes to the Madhyamik Examinees, 2022. This is your first big exam in life. Remain confident, you are sure to achieve success. Appeal to all to cooperate in smooth conduct of the gigantic exercise. All the best, my dear students,” she tweeted.

Last year, the exam could not be held due the surge in Covid-19 cases.

Students were given scores based on an evaluation format that took into consideration internal assessment performance among other parameters.