(Exam) Objective-type online exams for civil service

Exam : Objective-type online exams for civil service

With an aim to attract the top rankers into the civil service, sweeping changes in the selection process have been mooted by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievance and, Law and Justice, said Sudarsana Nachiappan, MP and Chairman of the standing committee.

Speaking to reporters here on Saturday, Sudarsana said it took 18 months for the selection of a civil servant. �In today�s competitive scenario, talented candidates do not want to wait that long. They are being recruited by private organizations and the government misses out,� he said.

Out of the three lakh applicants for the civil service examination, only 40,000 become eligible to take up the main exams.

Marks in the preliminary round are not disclosed and cut-off marks are not revealed. Eligible candidates for the main exam, thus have very little time to prepare.

In order to remove these anomalies, it has been proposed to switch over to objective type online examinations, on the lines of GMAT, wherein the candidates will know his/her scores instantly.

Another major issue is the interviews being conducted on community basis. OBCs, SC/ST, general categories are called in group, eventually giving room for communal bias among other interviewers.

Moreover, the objective of selecting on the basis of merit is defeated. Hence, a common selection with adequate provisions for reserved candidates has also been mooted. It has also been proposed to increase the number of members of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) board from the present ten members, a system introduced when the intake was much less. [Read more..]

Courtesy : http://www.newindpress.com