Kolkata, 20 February (H.S.) : The West Bengal School Service Commission has barred candidates from wearing covered shoes or boots inside examination centres for the upcoming Group C and Group D recruitment tests. Candidates have been instructed to wear slippers or sandals instead. The written examinations are scheduled to be held across the state on March 1 and March 8.

Commission Chairman Siddhartha Majumdar said the restriction has been imposed to facilitate proper frisking and to prevent the use of unfair means. He noted that covered footwear makes inspection difficult and could allow concealment of prohibited items.

“If people can remove their shoes during security checks at airports, why object to a similar restriction inside examination halls?” Majumdar remarked while addressing concerns raised by some candidates.

Revised instructions have been incorporated into the admit cards, which have already been made available for download. The Chairman clarified that the decision was taken to ensure transparency and to prevent the concealment of mobile phones or other electronic devices inside footwear.

A senior Commission official said the directive follows recent incidents during board examinations in which candidates allegedly hid devices in shoes and used artificial intelligence tools to answer questions. The measure is intended to safeguard the integrity of the recruitment process.

The Commission has also prohibited jewellery and metallic objects inside examination halls. Only transparent pens and water bottles will be permitted, while wristwatches have been strictly banned. Candidates carrying prohibited items will be required to deposit them at designated counters before entering the centres.

Majumdar warned that strict action would be taken to maintain the sanctity of the examination process. Any candidate found in possession of banned items will have their candidature cancelled.

The footwear directive has, however, drawn criticism from a section of aspirants, particularly those travelling from distant areas, who have expressed inconvenience over wearing slippers and managing footwear outside the centres.

The Commission expects approximately 8.13 lakh candidates to appear for the Group C examination and around 8.20 lakh for Group D. Nearly 1,700 examination centres have been set up across West Bengal.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh