Editor,
Through the columns of your esteemed daily, I wish to bring to the attention of the chairman of the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) to a matter of serious concern regarding the recently concluded recruitment examination for engineering posts conducted by the commission.
It has come to the notice of many aspirants, particularly those from civil engineering background, that there was a stark and unfair disparity in the difficulty level of the examination papers for different engineering streams. While civil engineering aspirants were faced with a paper of considerable difficulty, heavily loaded with complex numerical problems – so much so that many could not complete the paper within the allotted three hours – the agriculture engineering paper was reportedly completed by many aspirants within just one hour. Moreover, it was said by the agriculture engineering candidates themselves that their question paper consisted mostly of theoretical and direct questions, lacking in computational or analytical rigour.
Both streams were competing for the same post, and such a discrepancy in paper difficulty puts civil engineering candidates at a clear disadvantage. This imbalance not only undermines the spirit of fair competition but also calls into question the transparency and standardization of the examination process.
Secondly, we would also like to raise concerns regarding the eligibility criteria for engineering posts in the hydropower department. Traditionally, agriculture engineers were considered for departments like Rural Works Department (RWD) and Water Resources Department (WRD), where the syllabus and work domain are more aligned with their academic background. However, their inclusion in departments such as hydropower – which are conventionally technical and demand strong foundations in core civil engineering concepts – seems questionable. This inclusion further tilts the balance in their favour, especially when coupled with easier paper standards.
It is a humble request to the chairman of the APPSC to look into this matter with urgency and seriousness. We urge the commission to ensure a uniform standard of difficulty across all engineering disciplines in future examinations and to review the eligibility criteria for various departments to maintain domain relevance and technical appropriateness.
We hope the commission will take corrective measures to uphold fairness and merit in the recruitment process.
A concerned aspirant,
Civil engineering stream