West Bengal University of Health Sciences has implemented new measures for conducting MBBS examinations in medical colleges of the state. As per the standard operating procedures (SOPs) introduced under the guidance of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is also the state’s health minister, all MBBS exams will now be conducted under CCTV surveillance and telecasted live for additional supervision.

To maintain the integrity of the exam, answer sheets will no longer display student names, but will use barcodes for identification. The seating arrangement will also follow an alternating even-odd roll number pattern to discourage copying among students.

To increase the transparency of MBBS examinations, the West Bengal University of Health Sciences has mandated that daily CCTV footage of examination sessions be recorded and sent to the university in a separate file, with the requirement that the footage be stored for at least one year , an official official. reported.

These measures align with the demands of junior doctors who are advocating for stricter examination protocols after a recent tragic incident at a hospital where a female doctor was allegedly assaulted and killed on August 9. Following this, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee pledged to implement a SOP to prevent exam malpractices, addressing junior doctors’ call for reform.

Their list of ten demands highlighted concerns about unqualified students getting MBBS certificates despite irregular attendance, which they believe undermines the standards of the profession. “We hope these changes will also lead to improvements in medical services,” noted a junior doctor involved in the recent protests.

As per Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s directives, the MBBS examinations will now be monitored under CCTV surveillance and the entire examination process will be telecasted live.

Here are some key points of the new measures:

• CCTV surveillance: All exam venues will be under constant CCTV surveillance and footage of the entire exam day will be sent to the university in a separate file. Images will be stored for at least one year for review purposes.
• Live streaming: To further ensure transparency, the exams will be streamed live, allowing authorities to monitor the proceedings in real time.
• Anonymized answer sheets: Student answer sheets will be anonymized using barcodes instead of names, making it more difficult to trace answers to individuals.
• Roll number odd-even: To discourage cheating, students will be asked to sit in an even-even roll numbered seating pattern.
• Advocacy of junior doctors: The decision came after a series of protests by junior doctors who demanded stricter measures to ensure transparency in the examination system. Their protests were sparked after the death of a woman doctor and allegations that unqualified students were getting MBBS degrees.

It further aims to address concerns raised by junior doctors about malpractice, particularly the alleged practice of unqualified students receiving MBBS certificates despite not having attended classes for several years.

(With inputs from PTI)