Lucknow, February 5: The Uttar Pradesh government has announced stringent measures to ensure that the upcoming UP Board High School and Intermediate examinations are conducted in a completely cheating-free, peaceful, and transparent manner. Chief Secretary S.P. Goyal emphasized during a video conference with divisional commissioners, district magistrates, and senior police officials that any negligence in the examination process will not be tolerated.
The UP Board High School and Intermediate exams are scheduled to take place from February 18 to March 12 across all districts in the state. Goyal instructed that all examination centers must be equipped with fully operational CCTV cameras and voice recorders, and control and monitoring centers should be established at both state and district levels. He also mandated timely training for all personnel involved in the examination process.
Based on previous experiences, 18 districts, including Agra, Mathura, Aligarh, Hathras, Etah, Kasganj, Prayagraj, Kaushambi, Pratapgarh, Hardoi, Kannauj, Azamgarh, Ballia, Mau, Jaunpur, Ghazipur, Deoria, and Gonda, have been declared sensitive. These districts will have their highly sensitive examination centers inspected twice daily, with special surveillance conducted by the STF and LIU. Goyal directed that the entire process of opening question papers during the exams must be monitored by CCTV, ensuring that only the correct question papers are retrieved from the strong room.
To prevent external cheating, regular patrolling and random night checks of strong rooms are mandatory. Continuous monitoring of social media is also required, with strict actions against those spreading rumors or attempting to disrupt the exams. To facilitate candidates, Goyal requested the regular operation of buses according to exam schedules and ensured uninterrupted power supply.
This year, reserve sets of question papers for core subjects will be available at all centers, and coding of question papers by center will be implemented. Additionally, a pilot project will see the installation of jammers at 20 examination centers across the state.
The meeting also reviewed a special campaign running from February 1 to February 15 aimed at curbing overloading and illegal transportation. Goyal instructed strict actions against pending challans, overloaded vehicles, and those transporting minerals with fake or incorrect number plates. He urged the tagging of the remaining 5,632 vehicles with mine tags and the completion of GPS integration.
Goyal also directed all divisional commissioners to regularly inspect collectorates and for district magistrates to oversee tehsil offices, ensuring that citizens’ issues are resolved quickly, transparently, and effectively. He clarified that no citizen should have to make unnecessary visits to high officials’ offices for problem resolution.
The UP Board examinations will be conducted at 8,033 centers in two shifts, with over 5.3 million candidates registered, including students from both high school and intermediate levels.
