As UPPSC aspirants protest for 2nd day, U.P. govt. faces flak

Protest by UPPSC job aspirants against multiple shifts and score normalization in exams intensifies in Prayagraj.

The protest of Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) job aspirants against the conduct of Civil Services (preliminary), Review Officer/Assistant Review Officer (RO/ARO) examination in multiple shifts and against normalisation of score entered day two on Tuesday (November 12, 2024). Thousands of youth are protesting outside the UPPSC headquarters in Prayagraj. Some protestors carried placards with the slogan “Na batenge na hatenge” (We neither get divided nor back off) along the lines of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s slogan “Batenge toh katenge’ (divided we fall).

The local administration’s efforts to pacify the demonstrators went in vain as they were firm on continuing the protest till their demands are met by the Commission. “We are going nowhere till the UPPSC withdraws the decision of multiple shifts and normalisation,” said Anshuman Pandey, a protestor. The Civil Services (preliminary) examination is scheduled to be conducted over two days, on December 7 and 8, while the RO/ARO (preliminary) examination 2023 will be held in three shifts on December 22 and 23, 2024. 

Citing past failures, some aspirants say they don’t trust the system due to lack of regularity and transparency. “The PSC prelims exam was to be held in March 2024, got postponed to December 2024. Apart from this, the RO/ARO examination paper was leaked in February 2024 and subsequently got cancelled. After that the date kept getting postponed before finally settling in December 2024. In such a situation, how could we trust the Commission’s decision to bring changes in format. In a single-shift examination, chances of paper leak are very low,” said Ashwini Vishwakarma, another aspirant from Prayagraj. He said, “The protest will transform into a massive indefinite movement if demands are not accepted.”

Another protestor Priyesh Srivastava said, “normalisation brings complexity as marks in some shifts increase and some decrease, then the one getting less marks gets selected and the one getting more marks may fail to clear the examination.”

The UPPSC responded saying the reforms were made in response to the demand of candidates and that the normalisation system was not new as it was widely being used by prestigious recruitment bodies nationwide.

It argued that when exams are held on multiple days or shifts for a single recruitment notification, the score normalisation process is essential in evaluating the results as the difficulty level of the paper in each shift/day varies.

“To maintain the integrity and quality of examinations, it is essential to hold exams in multiple shifts when there are over 5,00,000 candidates. When exams are held across multiple days or shifts for a single advertisement, the normalization process is essential for evaluating the results. This approach is commonly used by various prestigious recruitment bodies and commissions across the country,” read a statement by the UPPSC.