Board officials to crack down on double enrolment

BAREILLY: Board officials have found that around 1,747 class XII students filled their exam forms from two separate centres purportedly in the hope of getting a centre where they could get help in cheating. Board officials have decided to cancel both forms of students days before board examinations are scheduled to begin. However, the students have already picked up their admit cards, making it difficult to bar them from appearing for the exam. Board officials have already cancelled entries of around 600 Class X students for filling exam forms from two different divisions. An education official said students had filled forms from Moradabad and Bareilly divisions, in the hope of getting an exam centre where they could cheat. “Looking at previous years’ allotment of exam centres, students can generally figure out from which school to apply so that they get a particular centre. Some even go as far as bribing officials in the DIOS office to get a particular centre, so that they can cheat,” he added. Regional board officials said, “Forms of all such students have been cancelled as they have violated norms as per which students can only enroll themselves from a single school at a time. Filling examination form from two separate schools is against the law.”Additional secretary, regional board office, Sanjay Upadhaya said, “We have not received any directives on stopping such candidates from appearing in board examinations. However, once the enquiry is completed, results of all candidates found accused of enrolling twice will be withheld.”A senior education official added that in a majority of such cases, private students indulge in such practices as at time of admission, they are promised by school owners in facilitating them during board examinations. “This is why schools involved in mass cheating and having connection with nakal mafias opt to enroll their students from two separate divisions so that they can appear at examination center where usage of unfair means is more likely to happen,” he added.It may be recalled that such cases are not new in UP board examinations though earlier they were not caught by board officials due to manual submission of forms. However, students indulging in such practises are now being caught after board officials started online submission of forms, making it harder for nakal mafias to appear at convenient examination center.