Lucknow erupted in celebration as Uttar Pradesh’s high school and intermediate board exams commenced on Wednesday amid tight security and advanced surveillance. Across the state, exam centers welcomed students with flower showers, tilak ceremonies, and sweets, setting a festive tone for the crucial academic milestone.
The first session featured the high school Hindi paper, with students arriving as early as 7:15 AM. In Lucknow, venues like Kali Charan Inter College, Jubilee Inter College, and the Government Girls Inter College in Jiyamau buzzed with enthusiasm. Teachers applied tilaks, showered petals, and distributed sweets, wishing students bright futures.
Secondary Education Minister Gulab Devi visited the Jiyamau center, boosting girls’ morale. ‘Exams should be taken with confidence, free from stress,’ she urged, reaffirming the government’s commitment to transparent and fair public examinations.
To ensure a cheat-free environment, authorities have deployed center administrators, static and sector magistrates, zonal magistrates, and mobile squads at district and divisional levels. Sensitive districts and hyper-sensitive centers are under STF and intelligence unit watch, with twice-daily inspections. Each center boasts recorder-fitted CCTV cameras, strong rooms under 24/7 monitoring, and live webcasting.
District control rooms in Lucknow and a state-level center oversee all 75 districts. Toll-free helplines 18001806607 and 18001806608 assist students and parents. The UP Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, mandates strict action against malpractices in question paper handling, distribution, and evaluation.
Answer booklets feature special security features, while reserve papers are double-locked. In Sitapur, 146 centers hosted the Hindi exam with tilak welcomes, though some reported initial security lapses. Lucknow’s 121 centers have triple-layered security and thousands of invigilators.
Exams run until March 12, with 5,337,778 registered students—2,761,696 for high school and 2,576,082 for intermediate. Comprehensive tech-driven measures promise a fair, secure process for all.