UP Board exams: Answer sheets on bikes sans police escort expose gaps in ‘hi-tech’ vigil

In Prayagraj, the district where the UP Board is headquartered, answer sheets were found being transported to collection centres without the mandatory police escort. The sight of employees balancing bundles of answer sheets between them on motorcycles raised concerns about the integrity of the examination process.

The Uttar Pradesh Board’s claims of unprecedented vigilance during the ongoing High School and Intermediate examinations notwithstanding, a glaring lapse in basic protocol has exposed cracks in its administrative machinery.

UP Board answer sheets being taken to collection centres in Prayagraj without the mandatory security cover after the first-shift exam on Friday. (HT)

In Prayagraj, the district where the UP Board is headquartered, answer sheets were found being transported to collection centres without the mandatory police escort. The sight of employees balancing bundles of answer sheets between them on motorcycles raised concerns about the integrity of the examination process.

The incident comes even as the Board boasts of an array of high-tech security measures — nearly one lakh CCTV cameras installed across 8,033 examination centres, a 24×7 Central Control Room operating from the Board headquarters as well as from every DIOS office, QR‑coded identity cards for all deployed staff including non-teaching, and newly introduced A4 answer sheets designed to prevent tampering. However, the ground reality tells a different story.

This negligence becomes even more concerning in light of the government’s strict instructions. On January 7, government secretary Mohit Gupta had categorically directed police commissioners, district magistrates and senior police officials to ensure that answer sheets were transported strictly under police custody from examination centres to designated collection and storage points. Security personnel were also to be deployed at all centres and collection points, with accountability fixed on the district administration and the district inspector of schools in case of violations.

At the Government Inter College collection centre in Prayagraj, answer sheets from multiple centres arrived after the first shift on Friday on motorcycles, with two employees carrying bundles between them. No police personnel were present. Similar instances were reported from other collection centres in the district.

The incident has revived memories of last year’s lapse in Kushinagar, where a bundle of 250 high school English answer sheets went missing during transportation, forcing the Board to reschedule the examination for affected candidates.

UP Board secretary Bhagwati Singh said that a report would be sought from the district inspector of schools if negligence in transportation was confirmed. He assured that disciplinary action would follow against anyone found responsible for the lapses.

Meanwhile, Prayagraj DIOS PN Singh stated that at centres lacking adequate security personnel, arrangements would be made in consultation with the police commissioner to ensure compliance.