National Security Act Against Those Caught Cheating In UP Board Exams

Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday announced that National Security Act (NSA) will be imposed on students who are caught cheating in the Board Examinations starting from February 16, an official statement said.

On the instructions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to ensure fair and cheating-free board examinations, the Board has issued a list of guidelines.

"Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has issued strict instructions to ensure cheating-free board exams and National Security Act will be imposed on students who are caught cheating," the official statement said.

Strict action will also be taken under the Gangsters Act against those found obstructing the examination and their properties will be attached, the statement said.

An FIR will also be lodged against the room invigilators and centre administrators found involved in activities of cheating, it said.

The Uttar Pradesh Board examinations of Class 10 and 12 will begin from February 16. As per the official notification, these exams will be held in two shifts - from 8 am to 11:15 am and from 2 pm to 5:30 pm. The Class 10 examinations will end on March 3 while the Class 12 examinations will end on March 4.

For the first time, the Static Magistrates and Sector Magistrates will be appointed at each examination centre by the District Magistrates, it said.

"They will be required to report to the District Inspector of Schools along with the District Magistrate after the examination is over so that daily activities can be monitored. On the other hand, for the first time, a separate room will be made apart from the Principal's room for strict monitoring of the exam papers," the statement further read.

"In addition, the copies will be kept in a double lock cupboard and a CCTV will be placed for its monitoring 24 hours. After the appointment of room inspectors in all the districts, they will be given strict training before the exam. The sector magistrates, static magistrates, centre administrators and external centre administrators will also be trained in the district," it informed.

Chief Minister Yogi has directed that a separate strong room should be made for the safety of the question papers having 24-hour deployment of two armed policemen with their CCTV monitoring.
"He has also called for installing voice-equipped CCTV, DVR, router device and high-speed broadband connections at the examination centres," the statement added.

Also, the presence of all three- the centre administrator, external centre administrator and static magistrate at each centre- should be ensured while opening the question paper, says the statement.

"Strict action should be taken against anyone who is absent during this period. In such a situation, the permission of the District Magistrate or the Additional District Magistrate will be necessary while opening the question paper", guidelines read further.

According to official data, around 58,85,745 candidates have registered for the high school and intermediate examinations of the UP board, including 31,16, 487 high school candidates and 27,69,258 intermediate candidates. At the same time, 8,753 examination centres have been set up in the state for the exam, which includes 540 government, 3,523 private and 4,690 unaided inter-colleges.

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