L K Atheeq, Additional Chief Secretary Finance Department in Bengaluru
Credit: DH Photo/ S K Dinesh
Additional chief secretary to chief minister L K Atheeq on Sunday asserted that the KPSC decided to hold prelims exam on August 27 as no other exam was scheduled on that date.
The All Karnataka State Students’ Association is holding a protest for the last 10 days demanding postponement of the exam by at least a month.
In a statement, Atheeq said, “Exam is being held on (Aug 27) a working day, as no free Sunday is available for the next two months. A lot of preparation goes into conducting an exam for over 2.5 lakh students. About Rs 4 crore to Rs 5 crore is spent on printing the papers.”
He said postponement by two months means the papers should be destroyed and new ones should be printed.
“The papers cannot be kept for such a long time as there is a risk of paper leak,” he said.
Atheeq said the protests were being staged by around 1,500 people who had applied late after the government gave age relaxation to candidates of the 2017-18 batch.
“A small group of aspirants is lobbying for postponement. They are resorting to all sorts of pressure tactics,” he said.
Spreading misinformation
The officer said they were spreading misinformation and trying to give an impression that there was a scam.
“If KPSC or government gives into this lobby, over 2.5 lakh applicants will be put to hardship and will face injustice. They are all prepared and have booked their tickets to the exam centres,” he said.
BJP leaders, led by Bangalore South MP L S Tejasvi Surya, called on Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot and demanded his intervention to postpone the exam.
In his post on X, Surya said that the exam, scheduled by KPSC on a weekday, was causing inconvenience and practical difficulties for a majority of candidates.
Surya also joined the delegation in presenting the perspectives of the student-aspirants regarding the exam schedule before KPSC chairman Shivashankarappa Sahukar.