Class XII exam kicks off on the wrong foot Students burn/tear answer sheets

OSR/Correspondent
IMP/TBL, Feb 17: Chaos erupted on the first day of the Higher Secondary Examination (HSE) conducted by the Council of Higher Secondary Education Manipur (COHSEM) today, as students tore and burned answer sheets at Wabagai Higher Secondary School examination center in Kakching.
According to reports from the scene, the students resorted to violence after their request for extra time for the English paper was denied.
The examination began at 10 am as scheduled, and shortly after, members of the flying squad inspected the center.
It is reported that 224 students were allotted to the Wabagai Higher Secondary School center, with 171 from the Science stream and 53 from the Arts stream.
After the examination concluded, students began gathering at the center.
The situation escalated when students kicked open the center’s gate and entered the Officer-in-Charge (OC) office.
As the officials were preparing to lock up the answer sheets in a chest, a group of students requested extra time, fearing they would fail.
However, the OC responded that he had no authority to grant additional time.
Following this, the students vandalised property inside the room.
The students then entered the room where the answer sheets were stored and snatched them.
The answer sheets were subsequently torn and burned.
Our Thoubal correspondent reported that some students also burned their admit cards.
Despite intervention from security personnel deployed on campus, the students had already destroyed the answer sheets by the time they arrived.
The situation was eventually brought under control after an additional team of police, led by Kakching SP Priyadarshini Laishram, arrived at the scene.
Meanwhile, the Citizens Association for Rural Development, Wabagai, and the Social and Economic Development Organisation, Hiyanglam, while condemning the incident at Wabagai Higher Secondary School, announced that they will extend all possible assistance to ensure the smooth conduct of the examination at the center.  
It is worth noting that the Class XII examinations commenced today, with 31,530 students appearing across 117 examination centers Statewide.