UP Board Exams Starting from February 24: Stringent Guidelines Issued to Protect Paper Security

The UP Board examinations for High School and Intermediate students will begin from February 24. Before the examinations, question papers will be dispatched to various districts in the first week of February. In this regard, the state government has issued detailed guidelines so that the security and proper management of the exam papers are maintained.

As per the guidelines, any case of question paper leakage before the examination will be dealt with the Static Magistrate, Center Superintendent, and External Center Superintendent being responsible.

According to Deepak Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary of the Secondary Education Department, the strong rooms, where the papers will be placed in double-lock cabinets, will only be opened an hour prior to the commencement of the exams and sealed an hour after the completion of the examinations. The CCTV cameras for the night vision shall be attached, as well as a voice recorder with ongoing monitoring in such rooms. That room is designed solely to put up examination papers; nothing else is to take place in this room.

The keys to the strong rooms will remain under the supervision of the Static Magistrate. The process of opening and sealing the strong rooms and the cabinets will be conducted in the presence of the Center Superintendent, External Center Superintendent, and Static Magistrate. This process will also be recorded in a logbook, and photographs of the register will be sent to the District Inspector of Schools (DIOS) via WhatsApp.

The Additional Chief Secretary emphasized that preparations for the rooms must be conducted at least three days prior to the paper receipt at the center, which may be fitted with round-the-clock CCTV surveillance cameras.

Furthermore, mobile phones will be strictly prohibited inside the strong rooms for all officials and staff members. To prevent incidents of paper leaks, the District Magistrate (DM) will ensure 24-hour monitoring from the day the papers arrive. The DM will form a dedicated team to oversee and ensure the smooth functioning of these measures.

These guidelines are issued to all District Magistrates, Police Commissioners, Superintendents of Police, Directors of Secondary Education, Secretaries, Joint Directors of Education from all zones, and DIOS officers so that malpractices in the examination process may be curbed and its integrity maintained.