West Bengal: MBBS Exams To Be Held Under CCTV Surveillance, Govt Implements New SOPs For Transparency

West Bengal University will conduct MBBS exams under CCTV surveillance with live streaming, barcoded answer sheets, and odd-even seating to ensure transparency and prevent cheating.

CCTV Surveillance Introduced in West Bengal MBBS Exams. (Representative Image)

Source : PTI

Kolkata: The West Bengal University of Health Sciences has announced that MBBS examinations in medical colleges across the state will now be conducted under CCTV surveillance, as reported by PTI.

Following instructions from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who also serves as the health minister, the university has issued new standard operating procedures (SOPs) mandating CCTV surveillance and live streaming for MBBS exams in state-run medical colleges, officials stated.

Answer sheets will now feature barcodes instead of names, and students will be seated in an odd-even roll number pattern to prevent cheating.

"The CCTV footage from each examination day must be sent to the university in a separate folder and will be retained for at least one year," an official confirmed.

These measures come in response to demands from junior doctors for increased transparency in MBBS exams. Chief Minister Banerjee had assured the doctors that an SOP would be implemented to curb malpractice during exams.

Junior doctors, who protested following the RG Kar incident—where a woman medic was allegedly raped and killed on August 9—had presented a list of 10 demands.

"This will certainly help monitor the alleged issue of unqualified students receiving MBBS degrees despite skipping years of study. We’re hopeful it will improve medical standards as well," said a junior doctor involved in recent protests after the incident at RG Hospital.

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