E-Paper
Over 6.29L candidates skip PET exam, eight proxy candidates held
The Special Task Force (STF) of UP Police held eight proxy candidates, including solvers and impersonators, on Saturday.
LUCKNOW: More than 6.29 lakh candidates -- nearly 34% of the total -- skipped the Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Services Selection Commission (UPSSSC) Preliminary Eligibility Test (PET) 2022 written exam, which is being held over two days -- Saturday and Sunday.
In all, 37.58 lakh candidates have registered for the exam and a total of 18.79 lakh candidates were scheduled to appear for it on Saturday. However, only 12.49 lakh among them made it to the exam centres, according to the information shared by UPSSSC chairman Pravir Kumar.
As per official data, more than 2.4 lakh candidates enrolled to take the exam in Lucknow over two days. Of these, 1.2 lakh candidates were scheduled to appear on Saturday. However, 33,949 of these aspirants skipped the exam, held in the state capital in two shifts at 106 centres. Another batch of 1.2 lakh aspirants is scheduled to appear for the exam in Lucknow on Sunday. In total, the UPSSSC has designated 1,899 centres across the state to conduct the PET exam.
Meanwhile, the Special Task Force (STF) of UP Police held eight proxy candidates, including solvers and impersonators, on Saturday. Of the eight accused, three are from Unnao, two each in Jaunpur and Kanpur, and one from Amethi. Those arrested said they were paid ₹30,000-40,000 to appear as proxy candidates. Police also recovered seven mobile phones, OMR sheets, railway tickets, four voter IDs, two ATM cards, six Aadhaar cards, three PAN cards, and ₹4,500 in cash.
Candidates create ruckus over ‘late’ entry
As per guidelines, the gates of the exam centres in Lucknow were closed half an hour before the start of the test. However, several candidates, who couldn’t make it to the exam centre on time, created a ruckus. On the other hand, authorities forbid women candidates from wearing mangal sutra, bangles, and ornaments to ensure fair exams. Lucknow’s district magistrate Surya Pal Gangwar visited several centres to monitor the exam procedure.
‘Found Maths difficult’
Multiple choice questions were asked from subjects like Hindi, English, Maths, History, Science, Geography, and Current Affairs. According to candidates, the questions asked in the Mathematics section were difficult and time-consuming. Several questions were based on current affairs, they added.
