UP Board Exams 2026 Begin With Over 53 Lakh Students; Strict Security, Tech Monitoring Ensured
Authorities are enforcing rules strictly as the Uttar Pradesh Board of Secondary Education is working to conduct exams without cheating at all centres.
Published : February 18, 2026 at 3:30 PM IST
Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Board examinations for 2026 began on Wednesday and will conclude on March 12. A total of 5,337,778 candidates registered this year, including 2,761,696 high school students and 2,576,082 intermediate students.
At least 8,033 examination centres have been set up across the state to ensure a fair, transparent, and systematic conduct of the examinations. These include 596 government schools, 3,453 aided-government schools, and 3,984 self-financed schools.
At least 18 districts have been declared sensitive, while 222 examination centres have been categorised as highly sensitive and 683 as sensitive.
The Special Task Force (STF) and local intelligence units will be deployed at these centres throughout the examination period. Highly sensitive centres are being inspected twice a day.
On Tuesday, the Minister of State (MoS) for Secondary Education (Independent Charge), Gulab Devi, inaugurated the state-level control room established at the Director of Education (Secondary) Lucknow camp office. She stated that this year’s examination system had been made completely technology-based and transparent in accordance with the chief minister's wishes.
To monitor the examination, two CCTV cameras with voice recorders have been installed in each examination room, along with a router, DVR, and high-speed internet access. Live monitoring of the entire examination period will be done through webcasting.
Strong rooms at examination centres are under 24x7 CCTV surveillance. Additionally, online monitoring of the strong rooms, question paper distribution rooms, and answer sheet sealing and packing rooms at each examination centre in all 75 districts is also being conducted.
To strengthen the system, 8,033 centre administrators, 8,033 external centre administrators, 8,033 static magistrates, 1,210 sector magistrates, and 427 zonal magistrates have been appointed.
69 Divisional and 440 District Flying Squads have been formed. State-level supervisors have also been appointed at the government level for all 75 districts and 18 divisions.
To assist candidates and parents, the State-Level Control Room in Lucknow has established toll-free helpline numbers 18001806607 and 18001806608. Additionally, the toll-free numbers 18001805310 and 18001805312 of the Board of Secondary Education, Prayagraj, will also be active.
Complaints and suggestions can also be submitted via email, Facebook, X handle, and WhatsApp. Control centres have been established at the Prayagraj headquarters as well as at regional offices in Varanasi, Meerut, Bareilly, and Gorakhpur.
Special security arrangements have been made to prevent cheating. Additional reserve question paper sets for all subjects are stored in double-locked cupboards for emergencies.
Special security features have been added to answer sheets, including four-colour serial numbers, the council's logo, and a microscopic "UPMSP" marking, to eliminate the possibility of tampering. This year, for the first time, the UP Sanskrit Education Council examination is also being monitored online.
Under the Uttar Pradesh Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, applicable in the state, strict action is taken if any irregularities are found in the preparation, printing, distribution, and evaluation of question papers.
The minister stated that malpractice in public examinations is an injustice to the future of the youth, and the government is committed to taking strict action against such elements.
The ETV Bharat team visited the Baba Thakurdas Inter College examination centre in Lucknow, where arrangements for cleanliness and clean drinking water have been made. CCTV surveillance is underway at the examination centre, and strict checking is underway to ensure a cheating-free examination. Security personnel have been deployed, and mobile and digital gadgets are prohibited. The instructions issued by the department are being strictly followed.
District School Inspector (DIOS) Dhirendra Singh stated that the entire district has been divided into five zones and 37 sectors to ensure the smooth conduct of the examination. Officers have been assigned responsibilities for each zone and sector, and they are regularly visiting and reviewing the arrangements.
Sanjeev Kumar Sinha, another DIOS, stated that a total of 69,661 students will appear for the high school and intermediate examinations this year in the UP Board examinations.
He added that a total of 107 examination centres have been set up across the district, which will be monitored by 19 sector magistrates. To ensure a cheating-free examination, all examination centres have been equipped with CCTV. All examination centres are being monitored from a control room.
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