SSC tightens OMR check rules as teacher tests return after 9 years
Telegraph | 4 September 2025
Calcutta: The School Service Commission (SSC) has issued instructions to invigilators for the upcoming teacher recruitment exams, asking them to ensure that candidates do not write anything other than responses in the designated spaces of the optical mark recognition (OMR) sheets. The move is aimed at preventing any disruption to the exam process.
The selection tests will be held on September 7 (for secondary-level teachers) and September 14 (for higher secondary-level teachers) after a gap of nine years. Around 5.8 lakh candidates are expected to take the tests for appointments in government-aided schools.
Sheet guidelines
Invigilators have been told to remain alert and inform supervisors if they notice any OMR sheet containing drawings, impressions, extra markings, or anything other than answer responses. In such cases, the sheet must be separated, sealed in a separate cover, and handed to the venue-in-charge with a note stating that it “contains materials other than the response”.
“We are committed to holding the exams in a free and fair manner. One of the main allegations that led to the cancellation of the 2016 recruitment test was tampering of OMR sheets. We don’t want to take any chances this time,” said an SSC official.
The SSC has detailed these advisories in an information booklet sent to venue supervisors ahead of the tests.
The invigilators must also verify all OMR sheets before accepting them from candidates. To ensure transparency, candidates will be allowed to retain their own question booklets and a duplicate copy of their OMR sheet when they leave the exam hall.
The information booklet says all unused question papers and answer sheets, along with signed attendance sheets, must be returned to the venue-in-charge within 30 minutes of the exam’s start.
“Please put the unused question booklets with the OMR in a separate packet, put the respective top sheets over them,” the booklet states.
The exam on both days will be held from 11.30am to 1.30pm.
Candidates will not be allowed to use watches of any kind, calculators, log tables, mobile phones, or any electronic gadgets.
Past irregularities
The Supreme Court, in its April 3 verdict, justified the mass termination of 25,753 teaching and non-teaching staff, stating that the “entire selection process has been vitiated and tainted beyond resolution.”
The apex court said that large-scale manipulation and fraud, including OMR score tampering, had “dented the selection process beyond repair”.
It was also alleged that candidates who submitted blank OMR sheets were appointed.
The Supreme Court on April 17 asked the SSC to complete the fresh recruitment process by December 31, 2025, stressing that unless the process is flawless, the timeline cannot be honoured.
On Tuesday, Calcutta High Court dismissed a petition challenging the SSC’s
list of tainted teachers, removing a key legal hurdle and clearing the way for the recruitment tests to go ahead as planned.