E-Paper
Over 3.13 lakh students skip UP Board exams on Day 1
Eight candidates caught using unfair means; one imposter each caught in Agra, Fatehpur, Kannauj, Kaushambi and Etawah
LUCKNOW/PRAYAGRAJ Amid tough measures against the use of unfair means, over 3.13 lakh (3,13,708) High School and Intermediate examinees skipped their Hindi paper on the first day of UP Board examinations on Wednesday.
The High School examination for Hindi and Elementary Hindi was conducted in the first shift, while the Intermediate examination for General Hindi and Hindi was held in the second shift. Of the 52,53,746 candidates registered for both shifts, 49,40,038 appeared, while 3,13,708 didn’t turn up.
Of the 27.54 lakh examinees registered for HS examination, 25.83 lakh wrote the paper and more than 1.71 lakh (1,71,321) students did not turn up for the Hindi exam. Of the 24.99 lakh students registered for Intermediate exam, 23.56 appeared while 1.42 lakh (1,42,387) skipped the exam, according to data made available by the office of secretary, UP Board.
Eight examinees were caught using unfair means while one imposter each was caught in Agra, Fatehpur, Kannauj, Kaushambi and Etawah. As per reports, FIR was lodged against the fake candidates under Uttar Pradesh Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.
According to Board secretary Bhagwati Singh, no untoward situation arose in any district and the exams were conducted in a fair, cheating-free and peaceful manner.
In Prayagraj, 12,289 students skipped the exam on Wednesday. Across 333 centres in the district, 6,290 high school students skipped the exam in the first shift and 5,999 Intermediate students in the second shift.
In Lucknow, 4,526 examinees, including 2468 High School and 2040 Intermediate, skipped the examination on day one.
In 2025, nearly 3.3 lakh students skipped UP Board exams on day one. In 2024, over 3.33 lakh skipped the exams on Day 1. In 2023, over 4.35 lakh and in 2022, more than 4.1 lakh students didn’t turn up for the UP Board exams on the first day.
In 2018, (the first board exam after the return of the BJP government in 2017 in UP), a record 10,44,619 students – nearly 15% of all those who had registered – skipped the UP Board exams.
“These 3.13 lakh students, who did not turn up for their papers, were those who may have felt that they were not better prepared for the examination or may have got their registration done illegally from different districts. As the candidates were required to bring identity proof along with admit card, many found it difficult to write their exam due to tough measures that are in place to maintain the sanctity of the exam,” an official said.
This number may go up as compilation of figures from 75 districts is still on, he said.
‘Candidates caught cheating will not be prosecuted’
In a letter sent to all divisional joint education directors and district school inspectors on February 15, Board secretary Bhagwati Singh directed that candidates caught using unfair means in exams will not be prosecuted. He mentioned that decisive and strict action against those found guilty of adversely affecting public examinations will be taken under the UP Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024. However, the provisions of this Act for discipline or punishment do not apply to candidates. Therefore, keeping the future of the candidates in mind, they will be exempted from criminal prosecution.
The secretary clarified that if a candidate is found indulging in unfair means while answering any paper in the public examination, his/her answer sheet will not be evaluated and the result of such candidate will be declared as per the rules laid down by the examination authority.
