Praveen Mall, who is the principal of a private school in Mau, was secretly filmed by one of the students while he was telling them how they could cheat in the exams.

Lucknow | Jagran News Desk: A school principal in Uttar Pradesh’s Mau district has been arrested for allegedly giving tips to students on cheating in board exams. The Uttar Pradesh Secondary Education Board (UPSEB) began on Tuesday.

As per the report, Praveen Mall, who is the principal of a private school in Mau, was secretly filmed by one of the students while he was telling them how they could cheat in the exams.

In the purported video, Mall can be seen talking to students, in presence of parents of some of them, and tells them how to cheat while escaping the strict measures imposed by the state government to curb cheating.

#WATCH Mau: Manager of Harivansh Memorial Inter College gives instructions to students appearing in state board examination; says 'write your exam with the help of cheating and maintain discipline when your 'chit' is caught'. (18.02) pic.twitter.com/nMeiUQmQai — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) February 20, 2020

The video clip was uploaded on Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's grievance portal by the student, eventually leading to the principal's arrest.

Reacting to the incident, Mau District Magistrate Gyan Prakash Tripathi said that they have taken cognizance of the matter and strict action will be taken after investigating the matter.

In the viral video, Mall can be heard telling students to write their ansers with the help of cheating and maintain discipline if their chit gets caught.

Challenging that "none of the students will fail", Mall says in the 2-minute-long video: "Even if your chit gets caught, maintain discipline. If the invigilator slaps you, tell him to slap you once more. Request him. It will be benficial for you."

"Don't leave any answers. Just put a Rs. 100 note in the answer sheet... the teachers will blindly give you marks. Even if you answer a question wrongly, which is for four marks, they will give you three marks," he says in the video.

Around 56 lakh students are appearing for Class 10 and Class 12 board exams in Uttar Pradesh this year. The state government claims it has made adequate arrangements to curb cheating in exams and tackle the cheating mafias.

938 centres have been identified as "sensitive" and 395 as "hyper-sensitive" by the state board, suggesting that they are more vulnerable to cheating.

Posted By: Abhinav Gupta