Prayagraj: Amid the agitation of aspirants, Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) on Monday said maintaining exam integrity and ensuring candidate convenience are its top priorities.
Addressing concerns raised by some candidates about the normalisation process, a Commission spokesperson stated that to uphold the sanctity of its examinations and safeguard students’ futures, exams are conducted exclusively at centres where the possibility of irregularities is entirely eliminated.
The spokesperson noted that in the past, various irregularities have surfaced at the remote examination centres, creating uncertainty for the deserving students.
To prevent this and ensure a merit-based examination process, such centres have now been removed, he added.
In a statement issued here, the spokesperson announced that to ensure the integrity and quality of examinations, only government or funded educational institutions located within a 10-km radius of a bus stand, railway station or treasury, and with no history of suspicion, controversy or blacklisting, are being designated as examination centres.
This arrangement has been implemented in response to the demands of candidates for maintaining exam purity and quality. To maintain the integrity and quality of examinations, it is essential to hold them in multiple shifts when there are over 5,00,000 candidates, he added.
Consequently, the Provincial Civil Services (PCS) Preliminary Examination will be conducted over two days, on December 7 and 8, while the Review Officer (RO) and Assistant Review Officer (ARO) Preliminary Examination 2023 will be held in three shifts on December 22 and 23.
The spokesperson also clarified that when exams are held across multiple days or shifts for a single advertisement, the normalisation process is essential for evaluating the results. This approach is commonly used by various prestigious recruitment bodies and commissions across the country, and it is supported by several rulings from the court.
The Radhakrishnan Committee, formed by the Supreme Court for the NEET exam, has also recommended conducting the exam in two shifts, and similarly, the Police Recruitment Examination was held in two shifts, he said.
According to the Supreme Court’s order dated November 7, if any aspect of the advertisement, recruitment or selection process is not explicitly addressed to, the concerned competent authority has the discretion to determine and implement the necessary administrative and procedural steps for shortlisting candidates. The Commission is following this process accordingly, he said.
The spokesperson mentioned that the Commission has received a letter from candidates informing them that certain Telegram channels and YouTubers are conspiring to postpone the examination.
These channels are spreading confusion about the normalisation process and are misleading candidates. However, many candidates, for whom both the examination and timing are crucial, have expressed support for the Commission’s decision, he remarked.
The spokesperson said the primary goal of the government and the Commission is to safeguard students’ interests and ensure selection based on merit. The selection process has been designed with full transparency and in consideration of students’ best interests.
Additionally, all necessary information is being provided to the candidates regarding the process, he said.
In the context of normalisation, he said the Commission welcomes suggestions from candidates.
“Anyone with recommendations for improvement or a better system is encouraged to submit them. These suggestions will be reviewed by a committee of eminent experts, ensuring that the necessary purity and quality in the best interest of the candidates will be upheld,” he said.
On maintaining the purity of the examinations, candidates had strongly expressed that self-financed schools should not be designated as examination centres, and that the centres should not be located too far from the district headquarters. The Commission acknowledged the validity of the concern raised by the candidates, he said.
Aspirants protesting against the UPPSC decision to conduct the RO-ARO and PCS preliminary examinations on different dates laid siege to the UPPSC headquarters in Prayagraj on Monday, staging a sit-in at Gate No. 2 even as a large posse of police personnel tried to disperse the agitators.
Policemen deployed in and around the UPPSC office tried to stop the students from reaching Gate No. 2 but the large crowd jostled their way through, raising slogans against the commission.
The police even chased the crowd in order to disperse them but the agitating students soon gathered again, defying the barricades put up on the roads to stop them from marching ahead.
The aspirants gathered there till late on Monday evening, lighting the torch of their mobile phones to express their solidarity, holding placards that read “we will not divide, we will not leave, we will remain united until we get justice”, and “one day, one exam”, among others.
Condemning the police “highhandedness”, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav termed the BJP government in the state “anti-youth” and “anti-student”.
In a statement issued by the party, Yadav claimed when the candidates raised the demand to stop “rigging” in UPPCS exams in Prayagraj, the “corrupt” BJP government turned violent.
