Geo-fencing, selfies with students to ensure transparency at U.P. Board practical exams

With an aim to ensure transparency in holding of UP Board’s class 12 practical examinations and keeping the examination mafia at bay, the Board has adopted hi-tech means to ensure complete transparency.

In the 2025 UP Board practical examinations for class 12 scheduled to be held in two phases between January 23 and February 8, 2025, for the first time examiners will have to award marks of practical exam through a customized mobile app while being present within 200 metres of the examination centre.

Moreover, the examiners will also have to upload selfies with the students on the same app during the examination timings from the examination centre.

For ensuring ease in abiding of these specialized guidelines by examiners, the Board has restricted a maximum of 80 children limit for an examiner that the latter could cater to in a single day.

The maximum limit of students to be examined by an examiner per day has been fixed at 80. The same can be divided into two batches of 40 students each for appearing in the practical exam. If the number of students in a school is 400 then the examiner will have to stay in the concerned district for at least five days.

According to UP Board secretary Bhagwati Singh, the Board had been receiving complaints about malpractice rampant in holding of practical examinations wherein examiners failed to comply with stipulated guidelines in conducting the same.

“For the first time a customized app has been developed wherein examiners will have to upload selfies taken with students at the allotted examination centre on the day of examination. This will ensure that the examiner was physically present at the centre and had met the students,” he said.

Moreover, he informed that every examiner as well as every school has been allotted a particular code which has been uploaded on the Board’s website to which the app is connected.

“As an examiner uploads a selfie the picture will have geo-positioning details of his location on the photograph along with time and date. This will ensure nailing down of copying mafia from the examination process. Also, the examiner will have to award marks to the students the same day of the exam that too while being present within 200 metres of the respective examination centre. The examiner code and school code will be tagged together and therefore the app will not function outside the Geo-fencing limit of 200 metres,” he explained.

The entire examination proceedings of the practical examination would be monitored through CCTVs. Also in case of undue pressure being created on examiner by private school management, a complaint could also be lodged through the same app, he added.