Massive protest in UP's Prayagraj: Why UPPSC aspirants are angry | EXPLAINED
UPPSC protest: The protesters staged a sit-in at the UPPSC headquarters on Monday against the announcement of the exam schedule.
Students in Prayagraj are protesting against the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) after it announced its decision to conduct the RO-ARO and PCS preliminary examinations on two different dates.
The students are demanding a rollback to UPPSC's earlier practice of holding the tests on a single day.
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The protesters staged a sit-in at the UPPSC headquarters on Monday against the announcement even as a large posse of police personnel tried to disperse them.
Why are UPPSC aspirants protesting in Prayagraj?
Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission aspirants in Prayagraj are demanding that the Review Officer and Assistant Review Officer (RO-ARO) and Provincial Civil Services (PCS) preliminary exams be conducted on the same day to avoid potential confusion and ensure fairness.
The protest erupted after the commission on November 5 announced to hold the said examinations on different days in different shifts.
As per the notice, the Review Officer and Assistant Review Officer (RO-ARO) preliminary examination will be held in three shifts on December 22 and 23, and the Provincial Civil Service (PCS) preliminary examination will be conducted in two shifts on December 7 and 8.
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The exam schedule has raged students and drew large-scale criticism from the aspirants, who are now staging sit-ins and candle marches to protest against the commission.
Most of the protesters, including women, spent the night under the open sky while those who had gone home returned on Tuesday morning to join the agitation at the commission's gate.
During the protest, the students were seen holding placards with slogans like, "We will not retreat, we will remain united until we get justice", and "One day, one exam."
On Tuesday, the agitators were seen beating drums while carrying an effigy of UPPSC Chairman Sanjay Shrinet, raising slogans against him.
UPPSC's reaction to students' protest
The district magistrate and the police commissioner held a meeting late on Monday to discuss the ongoing student protests and their demands, but so far, it remained inconclusive, PTI reported quoting sources.
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Speaking to PTI, UPPSC Secretary Ashok Kumar said, "As per the commission's guidelines, only government institutions within a 10-km radius of the district headquarters are used as examination centres. Previously, the same students were against using private institutions as exam centres due to concerns over security and paper leaks."
Underlining the logistical challenges, Kumar said, "A total of 576,000 candidates have registered for the PCS exam, while centres are available for only 435,000 students across all the 75 districts. Under these circumstances, holding the exams over two days is unavoidable."
(With PTI inputs)