UPSC row: Modi govt adds to the confusion
6 Aug 2014 5:25 AM IST
‘The government is of the opinion that marks of the question section on English Language comprehension skills should not be included for gradation or merit in the civil services, preliminary examination, paper two,’ the minister said, adding the examination would be held as per schedule on 24 August.
The minister’s statement on the floor of the House failed to clarify whether the compression part of the question paper is necessary to attempt or not. There is also no clarity whether it is necessary to get qualifying marks in that category or not. ‘If compression section is removed all together, then time would be saved. We can concentrate on other sections in the paper. But there is no clarity. I don’t know how to go about my preparations. Sudden changes, just 20 days before examination, are not justified,’ said Prince Verma, an aspirant staying in Mukherjee Nagar area, the hub of civil services examination coaching centres.
‘We are not benefited from the move. Our demands have been misunderstood. We have problem with Civil Service Aptitude Test (CSAT) which favours aspirants coming from technical background,’ said Anurag Kumar, another aspirant. Shyam Pathak, who is leading the group of students agitating against the CSAT, said he was disappointed.
‘This decision is eyewash. The government has disregarded the sentiments of the people. Out of our demands, the most important demand was to scrape CSAT. It provides ground for discrimination against students who have received education in Indian language. Moreover, the translation provided is pathetic. It appears as if we are reading an alien language,’ said Pathak.
However, among the more serious aspirants, the government announcement holds meaning only as far as the schedule of the examination is concered, which remains unchanged. Neeru, another aspirant, said, ‘People who appear for the examination can’t decide what should come and what should be excluded. Students can’t decide syllabus according to their own personal advantage.
Somebody has advantage in one area, another in another area. A student who has studied history, may have advantage over students who haven’t studied the same. Also, in our country we have so many languages. English is the link language. The current controversy over the examination is politicised. It doesn’t look into students’ welfare. If changes are made in UPSC examination, then changes should also be made in entrance examination for IIMs, IITs and other such institutions. Why is nobody demanding that?’
The minister’s statement on the floor of the House failed to clarify whether the compression part of the question paper is necessary to attempt or not. There is also no clarity whether it is necessary to get qualifying marks in that category or not. ‘If compression section is removed all together, then time would be saved. We can concentrate on other sections in the paper. But there is no clarity. I don’t know how to go about my preparations. Sudden changes, just 20 days before examination, are not justified,’ said Prince Verma, an aspirant staying in Mukherjee Nagar area, the hub of civil services examination coaching centres.
‘We are not benefited from the move. Our demands have been misunderstood. We have problem with Civil Service Aptitude Test (CSAT) which favours aspirants coming from technical background,’ said Anurag Kumar, another aspirant. Shyam Pathak, who is leading the group of students agitating against the CSAT, said he was disappointed.
‘This decision is eyewash. The government has disregarded the sentiments of the people. Out of our demands, the most important demand was to scrape CSAT. It provides ground for discrimination against students who have received education in Indian language. Moreover, the translation provided is pathetic. It appears as if we are reading an alien language,’ said Pathak.
However, among the more serious aspirants, the government announcement holds meaning only as far as the schedule of the examination is concered, which remains unchanged. Neeru, another aspirant, said, ‘People who appear for the examination can’t decide what should come and what should be excluded. Students can’t decide syllabus according to their own personal advantage.
Somebody has advantage in one area, another in another area. A student who has studied history, may have advantage over students who haven’t studied the same. Also, in our country we have so many languages. English is the link language. The current controversy over the examination is politicised. It doesn’t look into students’ welfare. If changes are made in UPSC examination, then changes should also be made in entrance examination for IIMs, IITs and other such institutions. Why is nobody demanding that?’
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