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The Union Public Service Commission has made the decision to postpone the preliminary examination of civil services “until further notice.” The exam was scheduled for May 31.
According to UPSC officials, a call to the new date will be made on May 20 after the “assessment.” A Commission meeting, chaired by Arvind Saxena, was held on Monday to answer the call to postpone the review with senior UPSC officials. The decision comes after the central government extended the blockade for two weeks from May 4.
“UPSC has done what should be done,” said an official familiar with the developments. “In the current scenario where Covid-19 is spreading, it is not feasible to conduct a full-scale exam.”
The commission, added the official, has not called a new date for the preliminaries. “The date will be decided in due course after evaluating the situation,” the official added.
“The decision was made with the coronavirus pandemic and closure restrictions in mind,” a second UPSC official told the Hindustan Times. “A new date will be announced after May 20.”
“From the inaccessibility of test sites during school closings, as schools became quarantine centers, to ensuring that students had enough time to reserve tickets to reach centers, UPSC had to go to a host to the problems to take the exam on May 31, it would have been very difficult, “said the second official.
The Commission was due to release admission cards for students this week, but has decided to postpone the process in light of the current crisis.
Almost 10 lakh people register for the preliminary examination of civil services every year. About 1.6 lakh of officials participate in the examination in 2,500 centers.
Many other major exams have also been postponed, such as the Haryana Civil Services, which will take place starting June 5.
Former UPSC President Vijay Singh told the Hindustan Times that the decision may delay the recruitment process a little, but it is not worrying.
“We have to keep in mind that not everything else has also been postponed,” Singh said. “The preliminary examination is a huge exercise carried out in various centers. Logistics is extensive and expansive with people involved across the country. UPSC cannot afford something to go wrong, it has to maintain its reputation, and the review must be conducted in such a way that there is no doubt about it. “
“All that can happen is that the recruitment process may take a little while, but that is not a big problem,” he added.
But the lack of clarity on a new date brings a whole new set of anxieties for applicants who believe that preparation time for the main exam can be reduced.
“The uncertainty is worrisome, but at the same time, but I hope for positive results as it will give applicants more time to study,” said UPSC candidate Snigdha Talapatra, 25, who will write her second attempt. “It’s probably going to happen in August or September. I sincerely hope that we don’t have less time to prepare for Mains. However, studying for preliminaries also means studying for Mains for most of us.”
“The situation is so serious that the decision to postpone the examination was inevitable,” he added.
