Board takes moves after multiple reports of malpractice

Wristwatches, a seemingly critical accessory when writing an examination, will now be prohibited at centres where the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) exam is to be held, in March 2019.

The Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board (KSEEB) decided to initiate this ban after multiple reports of malpractice.

The fear is that as watches become bluetooth-enabled, they can be linked to smart phones to find answers. Some watches have a storage unit where text files and images can be stored. Officials of the board found there are many specifically made “cheat watches” available online for ₹7,000 that lure students.

Moreover, officials said wristwatches enable a more old-fashioned form of cheating, with chits concealed under the watch.

Wristwatches are already banned in several competitive exams.

In order to help students keep track of time, V. Sumangala, Director of KSEEB, said all superintendents of examination centres will be told to instal wall clocks in each classroom of the exam centre. “The heads of the examination centre can use their accumulated corpus fund to buy the wall clocks,” she said, adding that a circular will be issued to school managements shortly.

The move, however, has not gone down well with students. Many of them say that while the board should ban digital watches, it should allow students to wear regular watches so that they are able to keep track of time.

Mahesh S., who is to appear for the SSLC exams this year said, “Most of the watches used for malpractices are expensive and beyond our reach. For a few students who may indulge in cheating, why should all of us suffer? We certainly need a watch to help manage our time better.”

Echoing this thought, D. Shashi Kumar, general secretary of Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools, said analog watches should be allowed. “Time management is the key in writing any examination. Students get anxious during the examination if they are not able to keep track of time.” According to the tentative timetable, the SSLC examination is scheduled to be held from March 21 to April 4, 2019.