PRAYAGRAJ: The Uttar Pradesh Secondary Education Board (UP Board) has warned students against placing currency notes in answer sheets to influence examiners, calling it a misleading practice that will be treated as the use of unfair means. Board secretary Bhagwati Singh said such answer sheets will not be evaluated, and action will be taken against both the student and the invigilator concerned.Singh said the board issued clear instructions before the start of the examinations to district-level authorities to inform students about this issue. The district inspectors of schools (DIOS) were directed to ensure that announcements were made in every examination room through centre superintendents, clearly telling candidates not to insert money into their answer sheets.Officials said during previous years, examiners discovered currency notes ranging from Rs 100 to Rs 500 in several answer sheets. Students reportedly placed the money with the expectation that examiners might be influenced and give them higher marks. To curb this malpractice, the board decided to strictly enforce the rule.The responsibility to ensure that students comply with these instructions was also given to invigilators. If money is found inside an answer sheet during evaluation, it will be considered negligence on the part of the invigilator concerned.In such cases, details of the answer sheet—including the candidate’s roll number and subject—will be recorded separately at the evaluation centre. This will help authorities identify the examination room where the candidate appeared and determine which invigilator was on duty.Strict action will then be taken against the invigilator concerned under the Uttar Pradesh Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act. The candidate involved will also be declared failed.However, the student may later appear in the compartment examination through legitimate means to pass the subject.