Tight security, model centres mark first day of Matric exams in state

Patna: The Matriculation examination of the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) commenced peacefully across the state on Tuesday. Boys and girls appeared for the language paper — Hindi, Bangla, Urdu or Maithili — in both sittings at all 1,699 designated examination centres under tight security arrangements.

Subject experts described the paper as average in difficulty level and well within the grasp of students who had prepared thoroughly from the prescribed textbooks. Amresh Kumar, a Hindi teacher at ANS College, Barh, offered a measured assessment of how the examination tested students’ knowledge without venturing beyond the syllabus.


According to Kumar, the Hindi paper maintained a fine balance — neither overly demanding nor simplistic. “The questions were average,” he said, emphasising that the examination was designed for students who had diligently engaged with their coursework. Students who carefully read the questions and completed their textbooks could approach the paper with confidence, he added.

“Most students found the short-answer section comfortable since they had to attempt only 50 out of 100 questions, and anyone who had read the books even moderately could handle these easily. The real challenge came in the long-answer questions, which demanded more writing and deeper explanation,” Kumar said.

Devyani Shrivastava, Hindi teacher at Painal High School, Bihta, also termed the paper average. “There were no questions outside the syllabus,” she said. “Students who thoroughly completed the main textbook (prose and poetry) along with the grammar book faced no major difficulty and could score very well. The paper was fair, textbook-based, and genuinely student-friendly,” she added.

In Patna district, the examination was conducted peacefully at all 70 centres. The BSEB chairman visited several centres, including Ram Lakhan Singh Yadav High School, Punaichak; Govt +2 Girls School, Bankipur; and Devi Prasad Miller Inter School, and inspected the arrangements. He also frisked some examinees during his visits.

The chairman said that examinees who could not take the examination on Tuesday due to late arrival would be permitted to appear in the supplementary examination to be conducted soon. However, they should not attempt to forcibly enter the centre by scaling the boundary wall. This year, examinees were given 100 % additional choice in both objective and subjective questions. Most appeared satisfied with the language paper.

Examinees were frisked twice — at the main entrance and again inside the examination hall. They were not allowed to carry calculators, mobile phones, bluetooth devices, earphones or any other electronic gadgets.

There was one invigilator for every 25 examinees, and the entire examination in both sittings was videographed. Adequate police personnel, accompanied by magistrates, were deployed at all centres to ensure a peaceful and fair process.

Students will appear for the mathematics paper in both sittings on Wednesday.

In each district, four examination centres were designated as “model centres”, staffed entirely by women — including examinees, invigilators, police, magistrates and support personnel. In Patna district, these centres were Govt Girls’ Higher Secondary School, Bankipur; Govt Girls’ Higher Secondary School, Shashtri Nagar; Kamla Nehru Girls’ High School, Yarpur; and Govt Girls’ High School, Gardanibagh. The centres were decorated with balloons and flowers, and examinees were welcomed at the entrance gate with flowers.

On the first day, five examinees were expelled for using unfair means. Additionally, nine candidates were caught in cases of impersonation, according to BSEB sources.