UP Board Class 12 English Exam Cancelled in 24 Districts After Paper Leak

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(Photo: PTI)

The Uttar Pradesh Board examination for class 12 English was cancelled on Wednesday, 30 March, in 24 districts of the state after authorities suspected that the question paper had been leaked in Ballia district despite heavy security and elaborate preparations made to control cheating and use of unfair means.

A statement issued by UP Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad Director Vinay Kumar Pandey said that the examination was cancelled in 24 districts of the state, including Agra, Mathura, Aligarh and Gorakhpur.

He added, “The English examination in the second shift is being cancelled over doubts of the question paper being disclosed. In the 24 districts, the same was distributed and hence the examination stands cancelled there,” The Indian Express reported.

Meanwhile, the Special Task Force (STF) has been asked to probe the paper leak.

Further, the Yogi Adityanath government has also ordered the suspension of District inspector of schools (DIOS) with immediate affect.

The examination will be held as per schedule in the remaining districts, as per the statement. A total of 51.92 lakh students are appearing in the examinations.

Meanwhile, the date for holding the examination in the 24 districts will be announced soon.

After a gap of two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, examinations for class X and class XII for the Uttar Pradesh Board started on Thursday last week.

A total of 2.97 lakh CCTV cameras had been installed to stop cheating in examinations.

“The feed from these cameras at 8,373 exam centres is being monitored at district-level control rooms,” an official was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.

The state government had said that the strict National Security Act (NSA) will be invoked against those found using unfair means during the examinations.

The exams will continue till 12 April, and are being conducted in two shifts from 8 am to 11.15 am and 2 pm to 5.15 pm.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav said in a tweet in Hindi, "Even in the second innings of the UP BJP government, the business of getting the paper leaked continues unabated. The youth are saying that the BJP government, which has failed to provide employment, deliberately does not want to allow any examination to be completed.”

(With inputs from The Indian Express.)