Reason: The Board failed to provide admit cards to them. Of 3.5 lakh students who dropped out from this year’s exams, nearly 1.5 lakh students in Meerut and Varanasi regions did not get the admit cards due to corrupt district inspectors of schools, Board sources said. Consequently, aggrieved students recently resorted to violence in Varanasi.

Around 55, 000 students from Varanasi region and another 60,000 in Meerut who were studying in non-recognised schools filled the forms for the exams through recognised schools.

“My son studies in SM Public School in Varanasi. Since the school is not recognised for conducting the Board exams, the management of the school helped my son to fill the forms through another school,” said Ravi Singh, father of Santosh who could not appear in the exams.

He added: “Even on the first day of the exam — March 2 — my son was not given the admit card.”

Blaming the Board authorities, another parent said the UP Board had sent extra forms to some schools to adjust students from schools which were not recognised. Even the forms were filled and duly submitted along with examination fees. Till the first day of the examination, the school authorities had been assuring the students that they would get their admit cards.

Similarly, in Meerut region, nearly 60,000 students could not appear in exams just because of the non-issuance of admit cards by the Board authorities.

“We have reports of irregularities at the level of district inspectors of schools at some places and we are taking it seriously,” said Prabha Tripathi, secretary of UP Board. She said the Board has decided to take stern actions against the guilty persons soon after the exams.

She added the Varanasi district inspector of

school has been asked to explain the cause of the incident and the allegations of “corruption.”

She was, however, non-committal regarding the fate of these students who were not at fault. “I cannot say anything right now and will place the matter before the Board members”, she added.

44th time lucky? Man sits for exams again

Lucknow: A 65-year-old grocery shop owner in Fatehpur district is appearing for the UP Class X Board examinations for the 44th time this year. A resident of Juniha village, Jabbar, exuded confidence and said after failing 43 times, he would succeed in clearing the examinations as a private candidate this year.

“Last year, I committed some silly mistakes and failed by a few marks. But this time I will not repeat those mistakes and pass the examinations,” said Jabbar, who is taking the tests in the Hindi medium. “Jabbar is taking the exams at the Adarsh Janta Inter College as a private candidate. He is probably the oldest student enrolled with the Uttar Pradesh board,”said District Inspector of Schools Prem Prakash Maurya.