The Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) on Thursday agreed to the demands of the protesting aspirants, saying it will conduct the Provincial Civil Services (PCS) preliminary exam in a single day. The state exam body's decision came days after massive protests by students in Prayagraj who demanded that the exam be held in one day and a single shift.
The PCS exam was to be held in two shifts on December 7 and 8. The Review Officer and Assistant Review Officer (RO-ARO) preliminary examination was to be held in three shifts on December 22 and 23 and has been postponed. A decision on fixing a fresh date for the RO-ARO exam will be taken once UPPSC submits a report.
UPPSC Commission Secretary Ashok Kumar made the announcement in front of the students in Prayagraj, who have been protesting against the exam schedule for the past four days.
"Several paper leak issues in competitive exams have come to light from different parts of the country in the past few months, in which some institutions were found to be involved. Keeping this in mind, to ensure the sanctity and transparency of competitive exams, the state government had planned to hold exams with over five lakh aspirants in multiple shifts," Kumar said.
"As part of this, UPPSC announced the PCS prelims 2024, proposed to be held in December and ARO prelims 2023, in multiple shifts. Over the past few days, the demand raised by some students was taken into cognisance by the Chief Minister. He directed the commission to maintain dialogue with the students and take a decision. The commission will hold the exam in a single shift," he added.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took note of the protests by UPPSC aspirants in Prayagraj and asked UPPSC to take necessary decisions by communicating and coordinating with the protesting students.
On November 5, the UPPSC announced that the RO-ARO and the PCS exams were in three and two shifts, respectively. The decision to hold the exams on separate dates drew widespread criticism, while the aspirants argued that it caused unnecessary confusion and hardship. The Opposition jumped on the bandwagon and criticised the BJP over the UPPSC's exam schedule.
While the announcement of conducting the PCS exam as before brought relief to some candidates and distributed sweets among each other, those preparing for the RO and ARO exams were disappointed.
Aspirant Rahul Pandey said they will continue the agitation till a decision is taken on the RO and ARO exams. "We do not trust this announcement as no official notice has been uploaded on the Commission's website in this regard," he said.
Another aspirant said the government was following a "divide and rule" policy and termed it a partial decision.
On Wednesday, UPPSC aspirants staged a candlelight march outside the UPPSC office in Prayagraj and chanted slogans to voice their demands. The Uttar Pradesh Police also filed an FIR against 12 individuals in connection with vandalism during the protest.
According to officials, a group of miscreants broke barriers and damaged coaching centre signboards on Tuesday night, prompting the police to register the FIR.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said the BJP government will work in the interest of the students and will also stand with them. "Decisions will be taken in the interest of the students," he added.
Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav raised the demand in favour of the students during his Prayagraj visit earlier in the day. "Those who talk of One Nation One Election cannot manage exams on a single day," Yadav said, attacking the BJP government.
Yadav expressed solidarity with the protesters but refrained from joining the protest to avoid accusations of politicisation, and accused the BJP of its inability to ensure the smooth conduct of competitive exams in Uttar Pradesh.
"This is the same government that promotes One Nation One Election but, in Uttar Pradesh, they cannot even manage to conduct exams for our youngsters," he said.
