[ Amar Sangno & Chukhu Indu ]
ITANAGAR, 20 Sep: The arrest of five persons in connection with the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission’s (APPSC) assistant engineer (civil) examination paper leakage case has once again eroded the credibility of the APPSC and has led the people of the state to suspect that the commission might have practiced such ‘rigged and staged’ exams previously also.
It is alleged that sheer negligence and casualness of the question paper moderators were reflected in the AE (electrical) exam that had been held on 30 and 31 August, just a day after the AE (civil) exam. The AE (electrical) aspirants have claimed that questions weighing 40 marks were on the front page of both Paper-I and Paper-II, which were exposed to any handler or invigilator.
To ensure fairness and confidentiality, the questions ideally start from Page 2 of any competitive examination question paper.
“Normally, on the front page, information like instructions, pointers of question pattern and time are given. However, in our (AE electrical) question paper, questions weighing 40 marks were put on the first page,” claimed an AE (electrical) aspirant who did not wish to be named.
“Whether it was deliberate or gross casualness on the part of the moderators, the commission is answerable. No competitive exam question papers are set like that – putting 40 marks’ questions on the front page, exposing the vulnerability of leaked paper,” he added.
He also questioned the manner in which each objective question was set, and went on to claim that “each objective question is given 6 marks, whereas normally an objective question carries 1 to 3 marks only.”
When contacted, APPSC Secretary Jayanta Kumar Ray said that the commission would verify if any complaint is received from the aspirants.
Meanwhile, the APPSC has cancelled the AE (civil) examination – both prelims and mains – after the paper leakage issue rocked the commission.
Other exams, such as for lady medical officer, veterinary officer, assistant conservator of forest, postgraduate teacher, and dairy development officer, have also been cancelled.
The commission stated that a fresh notification for the examinations will be issued “as per the notification.”
Speaking to The Arunachal Times, Ray informed that “the exam will be reconducted at the earliest, and all the candidates who had appeared for the prelims are also included to write the examination.”
A total of 4,000 candidates had reportedly appeared for the prelims examination for 33 AE (civil) posts, in which 415 candidates were selected for the mains, which was held on 26 and 27 August.
