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Chaotic Sunday: 33% candidates miss PET Exam in Uttar Pradesh
A number of candidates complained they were not allowed to enter the exam centre for arriving late as the gates were closed half an hour before the start of the exams in both shifts.
Another chaotic day was witnessed on day two of the Preliminary Eligibility Test (PET) of the Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Services Selection Commission (UPSSSC) on Sunday. A number of candidates complained they were not allowed to enter the exam centre for arriving late as the gates were closed half an hour before the start of the exams in both shifts.
“The gate was almost getting closed and we somehow managed to reach the exam centre at the last minute. But a few of my friends were not as lucky as they struggled to reach on time and missed the exam,” said Nitin Tiwari, a candidate who came from Balrampur for the exam.
Some claimed that they got delayed as there weren’t enough vehicles to take them to the exam centres.
The authorities expressed their helplessness in accommodating candidates who turned up late.
“We cannot help, if candidates do not reach exam centre on time. I don’t want to get into guessing work on large number of absentees. It was the biggest competitive exam ever conducted in the state and it was completed successfully,” said Pravir Kumar, chairman, UPSSSC said.
Kumar said in two days of the exam, out of 37.58 lakh candidates, 25.11 lakh candidates appeared while 12.46 lakh (around 33%) did not turn up for the exam.
On Sunday, of the 18.79 lakh candidates, 12.62 lakh candidates were present while 6.16 lakhs skipped the exam. Again, 34% candidates did not turn up in the first shift, and 33% were absent in the second shift. On Saturday, more than 6.29 lakh candidates (nearly 34%), skipped the PET-2022 written exam.
In Lucknow, 12.01 lakh candidates were scheduled to sit for the exam on Sunday exam but only 87,355 (32,789 absent) arrived to give it.
Gates at a number of the exam centres in Lucknow were closed half an hour before the start of the test. Another test awaited the candidates after their exam as they had to catch trains and buses to return to various parts of the state from where they had come for the exam.
The Charbagh railway station was full of these students. Several candidates who could not find place in passenger compartments even entered into luggage van.
“In view of the flood situation, this examination should have been postponed as many could not make it because of that,” said Ram Kumar from Ayodhya who brought his niece Deepa Raani for the exam.
“In view of the flood situation, the PET exam should have been postponed,” some candidates said.
