Duration of the CSE exam cannot be curtailed, the UPSC says
The time cycle for the CSE had been optimised to the extent possible, despite an increase in the number of candidates, centres and venues over the years, following a detailed analysis of the time taken in the pre-examination and post examination activities, the Commission said.
'One of the most vital factors that go into the determination of the time schedule of an examination is the need to maintain the utmost confidentiality and integrity of the examination process. Various checks and balances have been integrated in the examination system, which have been gained through years of experience to eliminate the risk to confidentiality and integrity,' the UPSC said in its reply to the the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice.
The reply is mentioned in the 154th Report on Action Taken on the 131st Report on 'Review of Functioning of Recruitment Organisations of Government of India' pertaining to the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, tabled in the Rajya Sabha on August 8.
The CSE is conducted in three stages — the Preliminary Examination (objective type), the Civil Services (Mains) Examination (descriptive type), and Personality Test/Interview. The exams are held to recruit officers for 19 civil services, including the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the Indian Police Service (IPS), and the Indian Foreign Service (IFS).
In accordance with the current trend, the number of applications for the Preliminary Examination was over one million every year, the UPSC said. The 2023 Examination was held at 79 centres across the country, with 2,538 venues to accommodate 10.27 lakh candidates.
The gap between the three phases of the exam had been within a range of around two-and-a-half to three months, the UPSC said, adding that there was hardly any scope to further compress the time between the date of advertisement or notification of the CSE, and the date of holding it.
Evaluation of nine descriptive-type answer scripts took more time, that is, over two months, as nearly 1.20 lakh answer sheets in different subjects were evaluated by different teams of experts, the UPSC said.
The parliamentary panel had recommended a comprehensive re-examination of the civil services recruitment framework, stressing that the process be rationalised and streamlined. 'At present, the examination cycle stretches across almost an entire year,' the panel said.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee had asked the Department of Personnel and Training to establish a clear timeline for the implementation of the Baswan Committee's reforms. In 2015, an expert committee, chaired by B.S. Baswan, former Secretary, Ministry of Education, was constituted to comprehensively examine the various issues regarding the CSE, including a high rate of absenteeism among the applicants to the exam.
The panel said that UPSC should explore the feasibility of declaring the answer key to the Preliminary exam after the exam was over, instead of publishing it after the declaration of the final results.
'Candidates should be allowed to raise objections at this stage only, and on that basis, any discrepancies related to the answer key of the Preliminary examination should be resolved. This should be taken into account before publishing the results of candidates qualifying for the next stage, i.e., the Civil Services Mains examination,' the panel said.
The UPSC said it had an online Question Paper Representation Portal (QPRep) on its website, where candidates could submit their views on any aspect of a question. The Commission released the answer key after the completion of the entire process, a policy it followed in all examinations, which had been working smoothly. 'As the above system of disclosing keys after the final result of the Examination is working fine since inception and serving the larger public interest very well, no requirement is felt to change the same,' the UPSC said.
The matter is sub judice in the Supreme Court, the UPSC told the parliamentary panel.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Deccan Herald
an hour ago
- Deccan Herald
Steps being taken to frame state-specific education policy
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said steps are being taken by the state government to frame a comprehensive "Karnataka-specific" education policy which will lead to holistic development of the youth. A commission constituted for this purpose has recommended a two-language policy in school education and that Kannada or the mother tongue be the medium of instruction up to Class 5. In his address during the 79th Independence Day celebrations here, the chief minister also said the government was upgrading first-grade colleges and polytechnics in the state, and establishing 13 new technical education institutions. "Recently, the State Education Policy Commission, chaired by Prof Sukhadeo Thorat, submitted its report," Siddaramaiah said. The Commission had submitted its report to Siddaramaiah on August 8. It was constituted in October 2023 following the Congress' poll promise to replace the National Education Policy (NEP) of the BJP-led Centre. This year, the government is setting up 500 Karnataka Public Schools (KPS) at a cost of Rs 2,500 crore, Siddaramaiah said. 'My Career, My Choice' Pointing out that providing skill training and employment opportunities to youth is a top priority for his government, the CM said that under the motto "My Career, My Choice", vocational guidance programmes are being implemented in 150 government schools for students from grades 8 to 12, benefiting 35,000 students so far.
India Today
2 hours ago
- India Today
Election Commission releases list of 65 lakh voters deleted from Bihar draft rolls
The Election Commission has released the list of voters whose names were deleted from the SIR draft voter list. The list has been made available on the Commission's official website for public list was published by the Election Commission following an order by the Supreme Court on August 14. The list includes names of those voters whose names were deleted from the draft list published by the poll body following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar.A new link has also been activated on the EC Bihar website to help voters check their names top court directed the poll body to publish the district-wise list of all omitted voters and state the reasons for their deletion, whether due to death, migration, or double process will enable people to have manual access to the list and the reasons specified by the poll body for deleting names from the voter top court also directed the commission to display the booth-wise list of removed voters at the District Election Officer's office and said that the District Election Officers should share the list on their social media court also directed the commission to publicise the information through advertisements in every newspaper, on radio, TV, etc. The list of removed voters will also be displayed at every BLO (Booth Level Officer) office and Panchayat office as well. Meanwhile, on Sunday, Election Commission rebuked Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over his 'vote chori' (vote theft) allegation and accused political parties of targeting voters while placing the blame on the Election Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar also asked Rahul Gandhi to submit an affidavit within seven days with proof or render a public apology for his allegations against the Election Commission.- EndsTune InMust Watch
The Print
3 hours ago
- The Print
Delhi election officer begins process to delist 41 parties that have not taken part in recent polls
The public notice, dated August 12, said the CEO office was acting under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and Article 324 of the Constitution after observing that these parties neither contested any election to the Lok Sabha, the Delhi Assembly nor any byelection. The parties have to give a reply to the notice by August 27. Some of these Registered Unrecognised Political Parties (RUPPs) that have been issued notices are the Aam Aadmi Mukti Morcha, Adarsh Political Party, Bahujan Samajwadi Party (Baba Saheb), Jan Kalyan Party, Indian Business Party. New Delhi, Aug 17 (PTI) The office of the Chief Electoral Officer of Delhi has begun the process of delisting 41 political outfits, who did not field candidates in elections and has issued showcause notices to them. Other parties include Agar Jan Party, Akhand Bharat Samaj Party, Labour Party of India, Lok Nirman Dal, Praja Congress Party, Rashtriya Vikas Morcha, Samata Sangharsh Party, and Swaraj Janata Party among others. The Delhi CEO has called upon the parties to submit a written representation, duly supported by an affidavit from the president or general secretary, by August 27. A personal hearing has been scheduled on August 22. '…as per the records of the Commission, the said parties did not set up any candidate at any of the elections held, either to the House of the People or to any state legislative assembly or byelections for the last elections in 2019,' the notice read. '…in view of the above, it is self-evident that the said parties have ceased to function as a political party for the purposes of the aforesaid Section 29A,' it said. The notice said that the Commission, in exercise of its powers under Article 324 of the Constitution of India and Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, proposes to delist the political parties. '…before taking action as proposed above, the Commission has decided to provide to the said parties an opportunity of being heard or making a representation/showing cause, if any, as to why the proposed action may not be taken,' it said. PTI SLB SKY SKY This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
