Kolkata: West Bengal class 10 board exams (madhyamik) commenced on Monday. It will continue until February 22.

Around 9.84 lakh candidates are appearing for the exams being held at 2,683 centres across the state, an official of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education said.

"The three-hour exams, which started at 11 am, are proceeding smoothly without any untoward incidents or major complaints so far," board president Ramanuj Ganguly told PTI.

Of the 9,84,753 candidates, 5,55,950 are girls, he added.

Carrying mobile phones and other electronic gadgets inside the exam hall is strictly prohibited. Even invigilators and officials tasked with conducting the exams are not allowed to bring electronic devices into the hall.

Special surveillance measures have been implemented in Malda district, where incidents of purported circulation of question papers on social media were reported in 2021-2023, though those were found to be fake. "All the 122 exam centres in Malda district have been equipped with CCTV coverage," another board official said.