Kolkata, Mar 3 (PTI) Around 5.9 lakh students appeared for the higher secondary exams, which began on Monday at 798 centres across West Bengal, officials said.

Council of Higher Secondary Education president Chiranjib Bhattacharya said, "136 centres out of 798 are sensitive."

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To prevent unfair practices in the examination, mobile phones were not allowed in the examination centres, following the instance of one candidate using AI technology for copying in the recently held secondary examinations.

Bhattacharya said, "The exam centres were also put under CCTV surveillance and metal detectors were kept at the entrance of every centre."

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He added that this year there are 45,571 more girl students than boys.

The plus-two board exams will end on March 18.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)