Uttar Pradesh decides to hold key govt job exam in single day

Prayagraj: Following stringent protests, the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) announced that it will hold the Provincial Civil Services (PCS) Preliminary Exam-2024 in a single day as per the old pattern. Also, it postponed the Review Officer (RO) and Assistant Review Officer exams (ARO), PTI reported.

While the announcement of conducting the PCS preliminary exam on a single day brought happiness to some candidates, those preparing for the RO and ARO exams appeared a bit disappointed. The protesters said they will continue the agitation till a decision is taken on the RO and ARO exams.

The Commission also announced that it will form a committee on Review Officer (RO) and Assistant Review Officer (ARO) exams to ensure transparency and fairness.

UPPSC Secretary Ashok Kumar said that in view of the incidents of paper leaks in many parts of the country in recent months, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to ensure the purity and transparency of the selection examinations.

It was because of this that the Commission announced that it would conduct the proposed PCS and RO/ARO examinations in multiple shifts in December.

"Conducting the exam on a single day will give the students confidence in transparency and fairness in the examination process. Also, the report of the committee constituted by the Commission will further strengthen the integrity of future examinations,” he said.

However, regarding the postponement of RO and ARO exams, aspirants said that they did not trust the announcement since no official notice had been uploaded on the UPPSC website. They said that until an official notice is uploaded on the website, they will not end their protest. They added that the announcements through loudspeakers cannot be trusted since it is a partial decision to disperse the aspirants from UPPSC office premises. The government is following divide and rule policy, an aspirant told the PTI.

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav took the chance to make a statement and slam BJP. Attacking the saffron party-led government in the state, Yadav mocked those who talk of 'One Nation, One Election' and said they cannot manage exams on a single day.

Following the state’s announcement for the mentioned exams, Yadav wrote on X, "The moment the BJP understood electoral equations and that it was facing a certain defeat in the upcoming elections, it has stepped back and has accepted the demands of candidates but only partially.”