Lucknow: With CCTV cameras in place at all examination centres besides other "fool-proof arrangements" to prevent copying, the Uttar Pradesh Board exams for Class 10 and 12 will begin from Tuesday with 66.37 lakh students taking part, an official said.

Of the total number of students, 29,81,387 students will appear for the Class 12 exam while 36,55,691 will take the Class 10 exam.

In all there are 8,549 examination centres. The Class 10 exam will begin from Tuesday and will conclude on February 22 while the Class 12 exams, also beginning on Tuesday, will end on March 12, the official said.

Secretary of the Board, Neena Srivastava, said, all arrangements have been completed and answer sheets along with question papers have reached the exam centres amid tight security.

UP Board exams are the biggest in the world and the UP Secondary Education Board has been conducting these exams since 1923 and officials pointed out that in the first exams, there were 5,655 students appearing for the High School (Class 10) and mere 89 for the intermediate (Class 12) exams.

This year, in all, 500 flying squads have been deployed to check copying and more than three lakh invigilators have been appointed to conduct the exams.

The Yogi Adityanath government has vowed to ensure that there is no copying in these exams and Deputy Chief Minister and Minister-in-charge of Secondary Education, Dinesh Sharma, has said the examinations will be an example for all to see.

It is for the first time that CCTV cameras have been installed in all the 8,549 exam centres. Of these 2,087 centres have been red flagged as sensitive of which 566 centres have been identified as very sensitive while 1,521 are sensitive in terms of copying mafia being active there.

(IANS)