DW BUREAU / PATIALA As many as 8168 candidates aspiring for the post of science master in government schools in Punjab took the written examination today. The examination centres in different districts including Patiala, Amritsar, Bathinda, Fazilka, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Sangrur, SAS Nagar were set up and elaborate arrangements for ensuring smooth and fair conduct of examination were made especially to check the menace of copying as well as impersonation. Earlier, examinations for the candidates aspiring for master cadre posts in the subjects of Punjabi, Hindi, English, Social Studies and Mathematics have been held. Education Secretary Krishan Kumar today conducted sudden inspections of the examination centres situated at Govt. Girls Multipurpose Secondary school, Model Town and Govt. Model Sr. Sec. School, Civil Lines here. "Teaching is one of the noblest professions and integrity of the candidates aspiring for entering into this profession could not be compromised at any cost", said the Education Secretary, Krishan Kumar, while adding that strict action would be taken against the candidates found indulging in malpractices during the examination. The candidature of the persons found guilty of impersonation and copying would be cancelled and they would also be blacklisted from applying for the posts advertised by the Education Department in future. Dr Jarnail Singh Kaleke, Assistant Director, Recruitment Board Education Department, DEO (SE) Patiala, Harinder Kaur, Deputy DEO (SE), Sukhwinder Kumar Khosla, were also present on the occasion. (editor@dailyworld.in)