Lucknow, February 17: The Uttar Pradesh Secondary Education Council has announced that the high school and intermediate board examinations for the year 2026 will take place from February 18 to March 12, 2026. A total of 53,37,778 candidates are registered for this year’s exams, including 27,61,696 high school students and 25,76,082 intermediate students.
To ensure a completely cheating-free, transparent, and well-organized examination process, a total of 8,033 examination centers have been established across the state, comprising 596 government, 3,453 privately aided, and 3,984 self-financed schools.
State Minister for Secondary Education, Gulab Devi, inaugurated the state-level control room set up at the directorate office in Lucknow on Tuesday. She stated that in line with the Chief Minister’s vision, this year’s examination system has been made entirely technology-based and transparent. Eighteen districts have been declared sensitive, with 222 examination centers categorized as highly sensitive and 683 as sensitive. The Special Task Force (STF) and local intelligence units will remain active throughout the examination period, with inspections of highly sensitive centers scheduled twice daily.
To monitor the examinations, each examination room will be equipped with two CCTV cameras with voice recorders, alongside routers, DVRs, and high-speed internet facilities. Live monitoring of the entire examination period will be conducted through webcasting. Strong rooms established at the examination centers will be under 24/7 CCTV surveillance. Additionally, online monitoring will be implemented for the strong rooms, question paper distribution rooms, and answer sheet sealing and packing rooms across all 75 districts.
To maintain the integrity of the examination process, 8,033 center administrators, 8,033 external center administrators, 8,033 static magistrates, 1,210 sector magistrates, and 427 zonal magistrates have been appointed. Furthermore, 69 divisional and 440 district mobile teams have been formed. State-level supervisors have also been appointed for all 75 districts and 18 divisions to ensure smooth examination operations.
For the assistance of candidates and parents, a toll-free helpline number 18001806607 and 18001806608 has been issued at the state-level control room in Lucknow. Additionally, the toll-free numbers 18001805310 and 18001805312 of the Secondary Education Council in Prayagraj will also be operational. Complaints and suggestions can be registered through email, Facebook, X handle, and WhatsApp. Control centers have also been established at the regional offices in Prayagraj, Varanasi, Meerut, Bareilly, and Gorakhpur.
Special security arrangements have been made to prevent cheating. Reserve question paper sets for all subjects are securely stored in double-lock cabinets. Answer sheets will feature four colors of numbering, the council’s logo, and a micro “UPMSP” marking to eliminate the possibility of swapping. For the first time, the examination of the Uttar Pradesh Sanskrit Education Council will also be monitored online.
Under the ‘Uttar Pradesh Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024’, strict action will be taken against any irregularities found in question paper preparation, printing, distribution, and evaluation. The minister emphasized that malpractice in public examinations is an injustice to the future of youth, and the government is committed to taking stringent action against such elements. She wished all candidates good luck and urged them to approach the exams with confidence and view them as a positive opportunity.
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DKP/
My name is Kuldeep Singh Chundawat. I am an experienced content writer with several years of expertise in the field. Currently, I contribute to Daily Kiran, creating engaging and informative content across a variety of categories including technology, health, travel, education, and automobiles. My goal is to deliver accurate, insightful, and captivating information through my words to help readers stay informed and empowered.
