PRAYAGRAJ, June 10 -- More than five lakh students studying in Classes 9 to 12 in 2,635 government secondary schools across Uttar Pradesh are likely to appear in OMR (Optical Mark Recognition)-based unit tests from the 2026-27 academic session under a new assessment initiative proposed under the Samagra Shiksha programme. The proposal, incorporated in the Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWP&B) 2026-27, seeks to introduce a more objective and standardised evaluation system while familiarising students with the OMR format widely used in competitive examinations, officials said. According to an official communication issued by the state project office of Samagra Shiksha (Secondary) on May 22, approval for the proposed OMR-based unit test assessment programme was granted on May 14, 2026, and preparatory work for its implementation has already begun. As part of the exercise, subject-wise expert committees are being constituted to oversee question paper preparation and quality assurance. District authorities have been directed to nominate experienced teachers from government secondary schools for inclusion in these panels, a senior official of the state secondary education department said. At the high school level (Classes 9 and 10), the proposed assessment will cover Hindi, English, Mathematics, Science and Social Science. At the intermediate level (Classes 11 and 12), the subjects identified include Hindi, English, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, History, Geography, Economics, Civics/Political Science, Commerce, Accountancy and Business Studies. Preference is being given to teachers with at least five years of experience in question paper setting and evaluation of board examination answer scripts. Teachers with working knowledge of computers, digital portals and educational technology tools are also being prioritised for the committees. Confirming the development, district inspector of schools (DIoS), Prayagraj, Santosh Kumar Rai said nominations of eligible teachers for the expert committees had already been forwarded to the authorities. Welcoming the initiative, Dharmendra Kumar Singh, principal of a Government Inter College in Prayagraj, said the new testing format would help students become familiar with OMR-based examinations and better prepare them for competitive tests in the future....