West Bengal presents Video Surveillance and Live Streaming for MBBS Exams

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

In order to maintain the integrity of the exam, answer sheets will no longer display student names and will use barcodes for identification. Seating will also follow a pattern of alternating odd and even numbers to discourage students from writing off.

To increase transparency in MBBS examinations, the West Bengal University of Health Sciences has made it mandatory to record daily CCTV footage of examination sessions and send it to the university in a separate folder, with a requirement to retain the footage for at least one year, officials said.

The measures are in line with demands by junior doctors, who have called for stricter examination protocols following a recent tragic incident at a hospital where a female doctor was allegedly attacked and killed on August 9. Following this, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee pledged to introduce SOPs to prevent exam malpractice, addressing junior doctors’ call for reforms.

Their list of ten demands highlighted concerns that unqualified students were getting MBBS certificates despite irregular attendance, which they said undermined the standards of the profession. “We hope that these changes will also lead to improved health services,” noted a junior doctor who participated in the recent protests.

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

Here are some highlights of the new measures:

• Video surveillance: All examination venues will be under constant CCTV surveillance and recordings of the entire examination day will be sent to the university in a separate folder. The footage will be kept for at least one year for review.
• Live broadcast: To further ensure transparency, the exams will be broadcast live, allowing the authorities to monitor the proceedings in real time.
• Anonymous answer sheets: Student answer sheets will be anonymized with barcodes instead of names, making it difficult to trace answers back to individuals.
• Even and odd seat numbers: To prevent writing off, students will be required to sit in even and odd seats.
• Advocacy of junior doctors: The decision came after a series of protests by junior doctors, who demanded stronger measures to ensure transparency in the examination system. Their protests were sparked by the death of a female doctor and allegations that unqualified students were awarded MBBS degrees.

It also aims to address concerns among junior doctors about negligence, especially the alleged practice of unqualified students obtaining MBBS certificates despite not having attended classes for several years.

(With data from PTI)