Visakhapatnam: A day after statewide protests, road blockades and daylong anticipation over its postponement on Saturday, Group-II Mains examination was held peacefully on Sunday, with no untoward incidents reported across the state.
Of the 92,250 candidates qualified for the Mains exam, 86,459 aspirants downloaded their hall tickets. Of these, 79,599 candidates appeared for the first exam in the morning, while the turnout reduced slightly to 79,451 in the afternoon. This represents 92% of those who downloaded their hall tickets attending the exams, or 86.1% of the total qualified candidates.
In anticipation of potential student protests, a heavy police presence was deployed at all exam centres, where Section 144 was already imposed. MVP Colony in Visakhapatnam, home to several coaching centres for Group exams and the epicentre of Saturday’s protests, saw a significant police deployment as early as 6 am on Sunday.
Speaking to TOI, candidates who appeared for the examinations said that papers were largely well-received. Many found the morning paper on AP history and polity to be manageable, with around 130 out of 150 questions attempted. Acording to the candidates., the afternoon paper on economy, science and technology was also relatively easy, with roughly 120 questions attempted. For those in the general category, scoring around 240 marks out of 300 could be key to securing an executive Group II position.
However, a section of aspirants expressed disappointment with the conduct of the examination on Sunday. Following direct involvement from the state govt, which had urged the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) to postpone the exam, many had hoped until late Saturday that a favourable decision would be made in their favour. Before the conduct of exam on Sunday, aspirants protested across the state for corrections to the roster for the past week. The roster issue is currently in the court of law.
In an official communiqué to the Commission on Friday, the state govt said that conducting the examination before submitting the counter-affidavit in the high court might not be in the best interest of the candidates and urged it to reschedule the exam to a suitable date.
However, in its reply to the govt, the commission said that the request for postponement came from candidates who had not qualified for the Mains examination and were determined to derail the process. “Their strategy is to have the notification cancelled by any means so they can have a chance in future notifications. The coaching centres are also playing a role in this to protect their vested interests. Since all the candidates taking the exam are graduates, postponing the examination at this stage would violate the model code of conduct (MCC), given the upcoming MLC elections,” said the commission.
The APPSC also said that such a postponement would affect the physical and mental wellbeing of the 84,921 (92.06%) genuine candidates who have downloaded their hall tickets and are ready to take the exam.
The issue also sparked political debate. YSRCP leader Botsa Satyanarayana criticised the state govt for allegedly deceiving Group II candidates by convincing them until the last moment that the exam would be postponed. “Conducting the exam under such chaos was unacceptable under any circumstances,” said Satyanarayana.
Meanwhile, the APPSC released the preliminary key for Group-II Mains exams in the evening. If candidates have any objections, they should report them through the APPSC website link, psc.ap.gov.in. Objections must be submitted online between the Feb 25 and 27. Objections submitted via post, WhatsApp, or SMS will not be accepted, according to the APPSC.
Of the 92,250 candidates qualified for the Mains exam, 86,459 aspirants downloaded their hall tickets. Of these, 79,599 candidates appeared for the first exam in the morning, while the turnout reduced slightly to 79,451 in the afternoon. This represents 92% of those who downloaded their hall tickets attending the exams, or 86.1% of the total qualified candidates.
In anticipation of potential student protests, a heavy police presence was deployed at all exam centres, where Section 144 was already imposed. MVP Colony in Visakhapatnam, home to several coaching centres for Group exams and the epicentre of Saturday’s protests, saw a significant police deployment as early as 6 am on Sunday.
Speaking to TOI, candidates who appeared for the examinations said that papers were largely well-received. Many found the morning paper on AP history and polity to be manageable, with around 130 out of 150 questions attempted. Acording to the candidates., the afternoon paper on economy, science and technology was also relatively easy, with roughly 120 questions attempted. For those in the general category, scoring around 240 marks out of 300 could be key to securing an executive Group II position.
However, a section of aspirants expressed disappointment with the conduct of the examination on Sunday. Following direct involvement from the state govt, which had urged the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) to postpone the exam, many had hoped until late Saturday that a favourable decision would be made in their favour. Before the conduct of exam on Sunday, aspirants protested across the state for corrections to the roster for the past week. The roster issue is currently in the court of law.
In an official communiqué to the Commission on Friday, the state govt said that conducting the examination before submitting the counter-affidavit in the high court might not be in the best interest of the candidates and urged it to reschedule the exam to a suitable date.
However, in its reply to the govt, the commission said that the request for postponement came from candidates who had not qualified for the Mains examination and were determined to derail the process. “Their strategy is to have the notification cancelled by any means so they can have a chance in future notifications. The coaching centres are also playing a role in this to protect their vested interests. Since all the candidates taking the exam are graduates, postponing the examination at this stage would violate the model code of conduct (MCC), given the upcoming MLC elections,” said the commission.
The APPSC also said that such a postponement would affect the physical and mental wellbeing of the 84,921 (92.06%) genuine candidates who have downloaded their hall tickets and are ready to take the exam.
The issue also sparked political debate. YSRCP leader Botsa Satyanarayana criticised the state govt for allegedly deceiving Group II candidates by convincing them until the last moment that the exam would be postponed. “Conducting the exam under such chaos was unacceptable under any circumstances,” said Satyanarayana.
Meanwhile, the APPSC released the preliminary key for Group-II Mains exams in the evening. If candidates have any objections, they should report them through the APPSC website link, psc.ap.gov.in. Objections must be submitted online between the Feb 25 and 27. Objections submitted via post, WhatsApp, or SMS will not be accepted, according to the APPSC.
