UPPSC exam date row: Aspirants' protest in Prayagraj enters second day

Prayagraj: The protest by aspirants against the UPPSC's decision to conduct the RO-ARO and PCS preliminary examinations on different dates entered its second day on Tuesday.

The protesters laid siege to the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) headquarters here on Monday, staging a sit-in even as a large posse of police personnel tried to disperse them.

While the district magistrate and the police commissioner held a meeting late on Monday, it remained inconclusive.

Most of the protesters 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.

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".

In a statement issued on Monday, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) said that in light of the concerns raised by the aspirants over the conduct of the PCS and RO-ARO preliminary exams, the commission should take prompt steps to address the issues related to exam centres, normalisation of scores, and conduct of exams in two shifts to ensure the integrity of the process.

"The candidates have been raising concerns over the guidelines set by the commission for the upcoming PCS and RO-ARO exams, leading to protests at different levels. The ABVP demands the UPPSC to promptly resolve these concerns. The integrity and transparency of the exams must not be compromised, and all the issues regarding centre allocation and normalisation must be addressed with utmost seriousness," ABVP national secretary Ankit Shukla said in the statement.

Abhay Pratap Singh, ABVP secretary, Kashi region, said, "We demand the UPPSC to resolve the concerns raised by the candidates at the earliest. We also call upon the commission to increase the number of districts where the exams will be conducted. The ABVP condemns the use of force against the protesting candidates and reiterates that dialogue is the only solution to all such issues." On Monday, the UPPSC said maintaining the integrity of exams and ensuring candidates’ convenience were its top priorities.

On the concerns raised by some candidates about the normalisation process, a commission spokesperson said that to uphold the sanctity of its examinations and to safeguard students' future, exams are being conducted exclusively at centres where the possibility of irregularities is entirely eliminated.

The spokesperson claimed that various irregularities surfaced at the remote exam centres in the past, creating uncertainty for the deserving students.

To prevent this and to ensure a merit-based exam process, such centres have now been removed from the list, he added.

In a statement issued here, the spokesperson announced that to ensure the integrity and quality of exams, only government or funded educational institutions located within a 10-km radius of a bus stand, railway station or treasury, and with no history of suspicion, controversy or blacklisting, are being designated as examination centres.

This arrangement has been implemented in response to the demands of the candidates for maintaining exam purity and quality.

To maintain the integrity and quality of exams, it is essential to hold them in multiple shifts when there are over 5,00,000 candidates, he added.

Consequently, the Provincial Civil Services (PCS) preliminary exam will be conducted over two days, on December 7 and 8, while the Review Officer (RO) and Assistant Review Officer (ARO) preliminary examination 2023 will be held in three shifts on December 22 and 23.