E-Paper
UPSC prelims 2021: Parents allege mismanagement at SCD College
Parents say that due to mismanagement, authorities delayed the opening of the gates of the exam centre, due to which candidates lost out on crucial time
High drama was witnessed at the SCD Government College in Ludhiana, which was one of the centres marked for the UPSC civil services preliminary examination, 2021, on Sunday, as parents demanded cancellation of the centre, accusing authorities of delaying the entry of candidates in the morning shift.
Of the 6,590 registered candidates, a total of 5,622 students appeared for the exam in 20 centres of Ludhiana. The exam was held in two shifts -- the morning shift from 9:30 to 11:30 am and the afternoon shift from 2:30pm to 4:30 pm.
A few anguished parents even got into an argument with sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Jagdeep Sehgal and raised slogans against the administration for the alleged poor management at the centre.
As many as 520 candidates appeared for the exam at SCD Government College in the morning shift.
Pardeep Kumar, the parent of a candidate from Jalandhar, said, “The authorities were supposed to open the gates at least an hour before the exam. But since the officials were struggling with the final arrangements, they let the candidates in around 9:13am. It takes around 15 minutes for candidates to settle down but the delay on their end caused a lot of mental harassment for our children.”
Kumar added that since there were different wings inside the college, many struggled to find their wing according to their roll number, thus leading to more delay. He further alleged that there were no seating plans or roll number sheets displayed at the gates.
Ashwani Kumar, another parent from Sirsa, Haryana, said the UPSC should cancel this centre immediately.
“It takes around 15 minutes for candidates to fill the OMR sheet before the exam. Since the students were allowed late entry, they took time to settle down and lost out on the extra time to fill the OMR sheet. All other centres allowed entry between 8:30am and 9am,” said Ashwani.
SDM Jagdeep said the paper started on time as students were not frisked and were sent directly to exam hall.
Meanwhile, parents stopped the official vehicle of Ludhiana deputy commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma, who had reached there to inspect the arrangements for the exam. The DC said, “Parents wanted permission to sit on the ground inside the centre. After their demand was turned down, they made an issue out of it. Proper protocol was followed by the officials,” claimed the DC.
When asked if the candidates were allowed to take the exam without being frisked, he said that jammers were installed inside to avoid usage of electronic devices.
