On Saturday (25 February 2023) morning, there was a commotion in several districts due to a delay in the conducting of Group II and Group II-A exam. The delay had occurred due to the incorrect distribution of question papers and answer sheets by the examiners.
On May 21, 2022, the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) held the Group 2, 2A preliminary examination for 5,529 vacancies. While 11,78,000 people applied for the exam, 1,83,285 did not take it. Approximately 9,94,878 people, or 84.44%, took the exam in Tamil.Though the TNPSC Group 2, 2A prelims results were scheduled to be released in June 2022, the results were not released until November 2022, for reasons known only to the Tamil Nadu government. 55,071 examinees passed the exam.
The TNPSC held the mains examination for the interview and non-interview posts in Group 2 on 25 February 2023. The exam which was conducted in 186 centres spread across 20 districts ended up in a fiasco with several candidates lamenting about their future. The exam was delayed due to some confusion in the distribution of question papers.
According to reports, after the examiners realized that the question paper and answer sheets were incorrectly distributed, the candidates were instructed to write the exam on an already written answer sheet, which was written by the person who received it during the previous incorrect distribution.
Furthermore, when the candidatess inquired about the incorrect register number on the OMR sheets, the invigilators misled them by claiming that those were dummy numbers.
TNPSC officials took back the question papers and answer sheets from the examinees and sent them out of the hall after realizing that the question papers and OMR sheets had been distributed incorrectly.
Some of the examinees who had phones outside the exam hall used them to look up answers to questions they remembered from the incorrectly distributed paper. It should be noted that only the question arrangements will differ from one examinee to another. The confusion and the resulting chaos caused outrage among students.
In this situation, TNPSC admitted to the confusion in the distribution of question papers and OMR sheets. TNPSC stated in a press release, “Due to a difference in the sequence of arrangement in attendance sheet order and question booklet order, there was a delay in the distribution of question booklets to the candidates.”
However, according to the department, the problem was quickly resolved, and examinations began in the centers shortly thereafter. Furthermore, the department instructed the respective districts to give the candidates extra time due to the delay in starting the exam in the morning session. Subsequently, the afternoon session examination was scheduled from 2.30 to 5.30 pm, added the press note. However, not all candidates in all centre’s were given the extra time.
Some students complained that some of the answers on the OMR sheets had already been filled in. They claimed that they could not correct answers on OMR sheets because the scan machine that corrects the OMR sheet would not allow it.
Many candidates who had spent more than a year preparing for the exam now face uncertainty. A video of a girl breaking down and lamenting about her future was covered by local media.
It is to be noted that this kind of blunder and mismanagement has never happened in the 9 decade history of TNPSC. By this episode, the DMK government has failed to provide equal opportunity in public employment according to Article 16 of the Indian Constitution.
Political leaders such as Tamil Nadu opposition leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami and PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss chastised the DMK government for the lackasaidal attitude and in ensuring a fair conducting of exam.
“I strongly condemn this incompetent DMK government for failing to properly handle important exams such as the TNPSC exam, and I urge the ‘Vidiyaa DMK government’ (the DMK government that never dawned) to cancel the exam on conducted 25.02.23 and conduct a re-examination on another day in a proper manner,” Edappadi K. Palaniswami said on Twitter.
TNPSC தேர்வு போன்ற முக்கிய தேர்வுகளையே முறையாக கையாளத் தெரியாத இந்த நிர்வாகத் திறனற்ற திமுக அரசை வன்மையாக கண்டிப்பதுடன்,உடனடியாக 25.02.23 நடைப்பெற்ற தேர்வை ரத்துசெய்து,
வேறு ஒருநாளில்,
உரிய முறையில் மறுதேர்வினை நடத்திட வேண்டும் என இந்த விடியா திமுக அரசை வலியுறுத்துகிறேன்.2/2— Edappadi K Palaniswami (@EPSTamilNadu) February 27, 2023
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