Gangtok: The state-level recruitment examination for the post of 62 undersecretaries, account officers, and deputy superintendent of police officers, which was held on January 16, has been under scrutiny amid allegations of malpractice during the preliminary rounds of the examination.
In response to the alleged malpractice, the Sikkim government formed a high-empowered committee on January 23, headed by the Additional Chief Secretary of the Education Department, to investigate the issue and submit a report within 21 days.
After completion of 21 days, the committee finally decided on May 4 to allow all 8,000 applicants, who appeared in both sessions of the preliminary rounds in January, to sit for the main examination.
The Sikkim Public Service Commission stated, “The preliminary exam is meant to serve as a ‘screening test only’ and marks obtained in this exam will ‘not be counted’ for determining the final order of merit. As such, in order to place all the aspiring candidates on an equal footing and to provide them an equal opportunity as well as to avoid further loss of time, the Commission, in line with the report of the Internal Enquiry Committee as well as the report of the High-Powered Committee, has now decided to allow all the candidates (who appeared in both sessions of the above examination) to appear for the mains examination.”
Many applicants criticised the decision of the SPSC. One of the applicants said, “SPSC has become a laughing stock these days. Every step they take has become a meme. How is it possible to allow everyone who appeared for prelims to appear for mains?”
He further said that the board is not qualified enough to conduct examinations for Group B posts and that they should just hand it over to the UPSC. He asked the SPSC to let candidates withdraw their applications and refund the examination fees.
Another disgruntled applicant said, “It doesn’t take much time to verify those OMR sheets with the help of new technologies. Let’s say 15 days maximum. I am pretty sure that OMR sheets were not even touched. A committee was formed right after the commotion was caused by aspirants. The notification was released saying it’ll take 21 days to verify the scenario but it took almost three months just to come to this point, which clearly shows that there is something else going on.”
The applicant requested SPSC to clarify how aspirants are supposed to take further steps regarding the mains examination.
Another applicant, who expressed concern over applying for all three posts of under secretary, accounts officer and DSP, stated, “Some have applied for just one post which is ok, but some have applied for all three posts. So my point is how are they going to segregate that? How are aspirants supposed to prepare if they have applied for all three posts?”
While explaining how technical glitches with the machine’s acceptance of answer keys are a problem, the applicants also questioned the SPSC on whether there be a separate exam for the three posts.
Demanding strict vigilance from invigilators for the mains, another applicant suggested, “For the mains exam, trained invigilators should be provided in every room so that if aspirants have any questions they should be ready to offer clarification.”
Applicants also suggested streamlining teachers for correction. They recommended assistant professors from all government, private universities for the correction of the examination papers. They said that only the applicant’s roll number should be disclosed in the answer sheets.
It was also suggested that subject-wise allotment of centre would minimise the confusion regarding the distribution of question papers in the examination hall. They said, “We request SPSC to conduct exams in our respective districts as previously opted.”
Another applicant noted that a few states, like Assam and UP, have changed the exam pattern by getting rid of optional papers. The candidates were also concerned about the shortage of optional subjects for the mains examination. Many complained that among the 28 optional subjects, many subjects were missing.
The applicants said that the subject list is outdated and there is no inclusion of new specilialisations such as home science nutrition, dietetics, public health, forestry, hospitality management, tourism, nursing, education, physical education, special education, and paramedical sciences. They added that despite some having master’s degrees in Rai, Limboo and other languages, the subject list is devoid of local languages.
The applicants suggested that the ideal list of optional subjects should have Bachelor of Vocation in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Software Development, which is being taught at Sikkim University and Nar Bahadur Bhandari Degree College. They added Computer Science and Engineering should also be on the optional subject list for mains exam.
The SPSC announced that the date for the mains examination will be notified in due course of time and that all candidates who appeared for both sessions of the preliminary examination were directed to submit their optional subjects on the SPSC website by May 27.
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Meanwhile, the physical endurance test of the candidates, who applied for the DSP posts, will be conducted after the completion of the mains examination as per the ratio notified by the SPSC.
Also Read | High-powered panel to probe conduct of Sikkim Services Exam