As the Matriculation examination draws closer, the Board of Secondary Education (BSE), Odisha has intensified its preparations by beginning the dispatch of question papers to nodal centres across the state from Tuesday. The process has started nine days ahead of the commencement of the annual examination and is being conducted under stringent security measures.
Officials said the transportation of question papers is being carried out in a phased manner, with strict adherence to established protocols to ensure safety and confidentiality, particularly in sensitive and Maoist-affected regions.
There are a total of 322 nodal centres across Odisha for the storage of question papers, including centres located in 17 Maoist-affected police station areas. The BSE has stated that all question papers will reach the designated nodal centres by February 17 through approved and pre-identified routes only. The Board President has categorically stated that no deviation from these routes will be permitted.
To further strengthen security, GPS tracking and mobile tracking systems have been deployed during transportation. Armed police personnel are accompanying the consignments, and surveillance cameras have been installed to monitor the movement of the question papers. Districts identified as Maoist-affected, including Malkangiri, Rayagada, Koraput and Kalahandi, are being prioritised, with the aim of completing delivery in these areas by February 16.
The Matriculation examination is scheduled to be conducted from February 19 to March 2. This year, a total of 5,61,979 students are set to appear for the examination across 3,082 examination centres in Odisha. All examination centres will be equipped with CCTV surveillance, enabling real-time monitoring from the BSE’s command and control room to ensure smooth and fair conduct of the exams.