‘PCS prelims to be held in single day’: UPPCS accepts protesting students' demand
A committee will be constituted to look into how the RO/ARO exam, too, could be held in a single shift, a statement from the UP chief minister's office said.
Giving in to aspirants' demand, the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) on Thursday agreed to conduct a key recruitment exam in a single shift.
For the other exam, the commission will set up a panel to look into how to conduct it conducted in a single shift, a statement from Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath's office said.
“The CM took cognizance of the demand of students in Prayagraj and asked the Commission to take necessary decisions by communicating and coordinating with students regarding the PCS Preliminary Examination 2024 in one day. A committee has been formed for RO/ARO (Pre.) Examination-2023. It will consider all aspects and submit a detailed report soon,” the statement read, according to ANI.
However, alleging there were attempts to “break up” the agitation, the candidates refused to call off the stir. The agitation would continue till the UP government decides to hold the RO/ARO exam, too, in a single shift, they said.
Earlier, a November 5 UPPSC notification to hold the Provincial Civil Service (PCS) prelims in two shifts on December 7/8, and Review Officers/Assistant Review Officer (RO/ARO) exam on December 22/23 in three shifts, prompted thousands of students to protest in Prayagraj, where the commission is headquartered.
On Monday, they gathered outside UPPSC's office in the city and began their “one day, one shift” campaign. They argued that exams in multiple shifts would increase the risk of paper leaks. They also argued that with the same exam on various dates, the difficulty level of question papers could vary.
On the other hand, UPPSC's stand was that conducting the tests in multiple shifts would uphold the exam's “sanctity.” It also stated that a “normalisation” process would be used to evaluate the results because the tests were being held held across multiple days or shifts.