'IT opportunities lead to lesser no of Civil Service aspirants'

CHENNAI : Growing job opportunities in IT and ITES sector has led to a decrease in the number of Civil Services aspirants, even as the general aptitude of those who were appearing for the tests were not upto the mark, a Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) member said on Saturday. The aspirants generally lacked in-depth knowledge, analytical and communications skills, E Balagurusamy, member, UPSC, told reporters here, after inspecting the Civil Services Main Examination 2007, held in a city school. "Most of them lacked things like in-depth knowledge of subjects, ability to logically analyse and solve problems and the most important communication skills." "The communication skills are very weak and the overall quality of aspirants is not upto the level of our expectations," he said.He also said that the growing employment opportunities in South India, especially in the field of IT and BPO, had resulted in diminishing number of civil services aspirants from the region.This year in the country, 3.2 lakh persons had submitted applications for the exam. Around 1.2 lakhtook the preliminary test, while only 9,300 appeared for main exams. tressing the need for higher education, he said students should be prepared for challenges like civil services at schools and colleges.

(Courtesy: Economic Times")