The state board has really done a number on students seeking admission to Std XI. Hundreds of students with doubts about the online admission process have called on the provided helpline numbers, only to hear the dreaded words 'Wrong number' or 'This number does not exist'. mid-day called the numbers provided for all 34 admission zones, and found five of them to be duds.

Like hundreds of students, when mid-day called the contact number provided by the state board for wards A and B, it was not the admissions guidance officer who picked up. Instead, a Dr A B Mishra picked up, all the way from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. "Wrong number," he snapped, promptly disconnecting the call.