Lucknow, February 17: The Uttar Pradesh Secondary Education Council will conduct the high school and intermediate board exams from February 18 to March 12, 2026. This year, a total of 5,337,778 candidates are registered, including 2,761,696 high school students and 2,576,082 intermediate students. To ensure a completely cheat-free, transparent, and organized examination process, 8,033 exam centers have been established across the state, comprising 596 government, 3,453 aided, and 3,984 self-financed schools.
On Tuesday, Gulab Devi, the State Minister of Secondary Education, inaugurated the state-level control room set up at the Director of Education (Secondary) office in Lucknow. 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 exam 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, and inspections of highly sensitive centers will occur twice daily.
To monitor the exams, each examination room will be equipped with two CCTV cameras featuring voice recorders, along with routers, DVRs, and high-speed internet. Live monitoring of the entire examination period will be conducted via webcasting. Strong rooms established at the exam 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 at each exam center across all 75 districts.
To maintain order, 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 regional 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, toll-free numbers 18001805310 and 18001805312 for the Secondary Education Council in Prayagraj will remain active. Complaints and suggestions can also be submitted via email, Facebook, X handle, and WhatsApp. Control centers have been established at the Prayagraj headquarters, as well as in Varanasi, Meerut, Bareilly, and Gorakhpur regional offices.
Special security measures have been implemented to prevent cheating. Reserve question paper sets for all subjects are securely stored in double-lock cabinets. Answer sheets will feature unique security features, including numbering in four colors, the council’s logo, and micro “UPMSP” markings to eliminate the possibility of swapping. For the first time, online monitoring of the Uttar Pradesh Sanskrit Education Council exams will also be conducted.
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 success and urged them to approach the exams with confidence and positivity, free from stress and fear.
Present at the event were Partha Sarathi Sen Sharma, Additional Chief Secretary (Basic and Secondary Education), Chand Bhushan Singh, Secretary of Secondary Education, Monica Rani, Director General of School Education, Umesh Chandra, Special Secretary of Secondary Education, and Dr. Mahendra Dev, Director of Secondary Education.
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