Karnataka education department decided to wristwatches inside the examination hall for the upcoming Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) exams to be held between March-April 2019.
The Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board (KSEEB) took the decision as students could use the wristwatches for cheating which comes with inbuilt features like recording and Wi-Fi. The board, though, has decided to put up wall clocks in each exam hall to help student maintain time.
Speaking to Express, V Sumangala, Director, KSEEB said, "To curb malpractices during SSLC examinations, we have decided not to allow wrist watched in the coming March-April 2019 examinations. We will issue a detailed circular after finalising the timetable."
KSEEB introduced several reforms for the past 2018 SSLC examinations which included the installation of CCTV cameras at all exam centres, ID cards for all staff and banning of mobile phones inside the exam venues, including those of supervisors.
The board took this decision following cases of malpractice reported at other university exams, where students were caught using gadgets and other electronic devices, including wristwatches to cheat.
A few years ago, a student of the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Science was caught copying using a high-tech gadget. The student stitched in a Bluetooth device, connected to his wristwatch, inside his shirt collar to access information.
Wristwatches, metal or ornaments and electronic devices have been banned at competitive examinations like the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), National Eligibility Test (NET) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE).
