PRAYAGRAJ, Dec. 7 -- In a significant crackdown on use of unfair means in examinations, the Uttar Pradesh Board of Secondary Education has barred 254 schools from serving as examination centres for the upcoming 2026 high school and intermediate examinations. This action follows findings that these institutions were involved in facilitating cheating during last year's board exams. Board secretary Bhagwati Singh confirmed that the list of flagged schools was compiled after multiple rounds of meetings between board officials and district inspectors of schools (DIoS) across the state. "The screening process is intended to ensure fair and transparent examinations. Schools with a questionable record will not be permitted to host board exams," Singh said. The barred institutions were identified based on reports from regional offices in Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Bareilly, Prayagraj, and Meerut. Of these, 86 schools have FIRs registered against their managers and staff for facilitating mass copying. The board has also instructed DIoS to identify additional schools involved in malpractice to ensure they are not designated as exam centres. During the 2025 board exams, the state witnessed an unprecedented surge in exam-related crimes, with 113 FIRs lodged across Uttar Pradesh. The copying mafia adopted new tactics, including deploying fake invigilators and impersonators to bypass strict anti-cheating measures. The UP Special Task Force (STF) registered 22 FIRs against six imposters, two centre superintendents, and 14 other staff members for promoting unfair means. In the exam, nearly two dozen fake invigilators and 49 imposters were caught. Currently, the UP Board has 28,530 affiliated schools, including government, aided, and unaided institutions. Officials say the crackdown is part of a broader strategy to restore credibility to the state's examination system....