Yogi Government Cracks The Whip On Exam Malpractices; To Invoke NSA Against Offenders 

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has decided to crack the whip on the frequent disruption of examinations in the State due to malpractices, by directing investigating authorities to invoke the National Security Act (NSA) against the offenders.

An official spokesperson quoting the Chief Minister said, “The exams should be transparent and corruption-free. The government will not tolerate those trying to play with the future of youths. Strict action will be taken against those who pollute the examination process”.

The Chief Minister also warned agencies involved in conducting examinations that if they were discovered to be responsible for malpractices, they would be blacklisted and legal options would be explored against such errant agencies. Concerns were also voiced by the Chief Minister in respect of the delay in filling government posts and he called for expeditious filling up of vacancies.

UP has been notorious in recent years for a spate of malpractices plaguing the conduct of competitive examinations in the State. The Yogi government has been determinedly trying to put a stop to these malpractices and the measure of invoking NSA as a drastic punitive step is expected to convey the seriousness of the establishment in rooting out the menace of cheating.

The Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party government was accused of not taking steps to stop organised cheating rackets in schools.

Earlier, commenting on the steps taken by the Bharatiya Janata Party government to prevent students from using unlawful means, Yadav appeared to support the practice. "Everybody does a little bit of cheating", the father of three school-goers had said.

After assuming power in 1993, SP leader and Akhilesh Yadav’s father Mulayam Singh Yadav had abolished the Anti-Copying Act introduced by the Bharatiya Janata Party government headed by Kalyan Singh in 1992.