PRAYAGRAJ, Aug. 2 -- The Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (UP Board) has issued fresh guidelines directing schools to rely only on prescribed documentary evidence while admitting children to primary and upper primary classes, a move aimed at preventing irregularities in the recording of students' dates of birth.

In a letter dated July 29 sent to director of basic education Anil Bhushan Chaturvedi, UP Board secretary Bhagwati Singh said headmasters of government-run primary and upper primary schools often fail to mention the document on the basis of which a child's date of birth is recorded at the time of first admission. This creates doubts about the authenticity of school records and leads to a large number of requests for corre...