Kolkata, Jan 18 (IANS): The timing for second and higher secondary examination under the West Bengal board are to be changed from this year, it was announced on Thusday.

Both the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) and the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) made the announcement in two separate notifications.

Both the secondary and higher secondary examinations this year will start from 9.45 a.m. and will continue till 1 p.m.

Till previous year the timing was from 11.45 a.m. till 3 p.m.

However, neither the board nor the council has stated any specific reasons behind the change of timings.

Sources said that the decision on changed timings was taken after some specific instructions from the state Secretariat.

The higher secondary examination conducted by the WBCHSE is scheduled to start from February 7 and continue till February 29. On the other hand, the secondary examination conducted by the WBBSE will start from February 2 and continue till February 12.

The secondary board examinations this year will be conducted under the strict surveillance of CCTV machines amid instances of examination paper leaks and allegations of other examination-related malpractices during the last few years.

A notification has been issued by the WBBSE where it has said that it will be mandatory for secondary examination centres and venues to preserve CCTV footage for each day of the examination.

In the notification, WBBSE Secretary Subrata Ghosh has directed all the examination center secretaries and examination venue supervisors to ensure that the order on this count is adhered to strictly. The board has also directed that the footage will have to be preserved till the examination results are announced.