Bhubaneswar, March 4: CCTV and watermarked answer sheets — Orissa is going hi-tech to curb malpractice in examination centres.

The Orissa Board of Secondary Education, for the first time, has planned to install CCTVs in some of the 2,040 centres, to monitor both students and invigilators. The system will be put in place before High School Certificate (HSC) examinations start from March 26 till April 5.

“The expenses, including that of installation, would be around Rs 18 crore,” admits minister for school and mass education Sanjib Sahoo.

The centres have been categorised as A, B and C, depending on their history of malpractice. Centres carrying “A” tag would be least sensitive with zero history of malpractice, while “C” zones would be tagged as “very sensitive”. As many as 130 centres have been identified as “very sensitive”.

Also for the first time, 10 elite squads have been formed to conduct surprise centre checks. This year, over 3.76-lakh students will appear for HSC in 2,040 centres in 30 districts. Of them, 3.19-lakh regular students will appear for tests in 1,723 centres. Over 57,000 former regular students will sit for the exams in 317 centres. There will be separate centres for correspondence-course students.

Meanwhile, authorities of Council of Higher Secondary Education, Orissa, which conducts Plus Two tests, have already installed CCTVs in 2008. Also question papers and answer sheets bearing watermarks, were also used to prevent duplication. Last year, allegations of rampant malpractice in centres led to 44 centres being scrapped.

CCTVs have been introduced in 20 per cent of the 887 centres before the Plus-Two tests. Recorded cassettes are collected and viewed to check malpractice. “If the idea is successful, we might go in for more CCTV-equipped centres,” said higher education minister Samir Dey.

The cost of the CCTVs would be borne by colleges. As of now, four colleges in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack and some rural colleges have started the system.