Earlier corruption, now inefficiency; Applicants' frustration grows as APSC delays results

Yesterday, the Secondary Education Board of Assam announced the merit list of the school-leaving examination. Dhritiraj Bastav Kalita topped securing 595 out of 600. He and his friends in the merit list and those who missed being a part of it but scored great grades are the ones with the potential to shape the future. A few years back in one of the press conferences, current education, health, PWD minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma then in Congress government questioned why such meritorious students are not making it to the merit list of Assam Public Service Commission. That one sentence started a debate that ended with what we today know as the ‘Cash For Job’ or APSC scam.

The chairman of the commission along with two other members got arrested and so did many officers who got the job because of either their financial powers or family influence in the bureaucracy. Mediocrity overpowered merit and corruption engulfed the government offices. The ministers changed, Sarma switched his party, the governor rejigged the commission in 2018 and it looked like a new sunrise.

The government office headquartered in Khanapara organised Combined Competitive Exam in 2018 with all fairness and announced the results within six months. By the end of eight, the new officers got busy training for their next job, which happens to be running the state.

Frankly, some faith did get restored, youngsters again wanted to join the public service putting a blind eye to hefty packages offered by public sector units or multinational private companies. However, it is all back to square one.

December 30, 2018, the applicants had appeared for the prelims and then the mains in August 2019. More than 10 months have passed but the results are yet to be declared. “This delay could be the difference between me being or not being an IAS at the end of the career,” says an applicant.

The reason for this delay is well known. The APSC got the answer keys wrong in the prelims which meant the ones who ticked the right boxes did not get the mark while the wrong ones did. Not one, not two, not three but 92 such errors in 21 of the 22 subjects. The commission issued a new list of shortlisted candidates for the mains after re-evaluating the prelims using the correct answer keys. 408 new names were added in the second list of candidates and all of them were allowed to sit for the mains. However, a few students wanted APSC to remove those who got shortlisted ticking the wrong boxes.

The matter went to Gauhati High Court and the lengthy procedure began. “APSC is supposed to finish the evaluation, prepare the results and then consult the court before announcing them,” informs Pallav Bhattacharya, the chairman of APSC, who took over earlier this year from Dipak Kumar Sharma, who was the chairman in charge.

“Look, we all know it was an inconsistency on our part which caused the delay initially. However, we would have finished the evaluation by now. Because of the lockdowns and COVID19 outbreak, we got stuck. The evaluators are required to travel to the office and then see the papers. This has been the system for quite some time because of certain other things that happened in earlier instances. Now, the evaluators were not willing to come (to APSC office) because of the virus which has created a lot of problems for us,” adds the Chairman.

The applicants are running out of patience. “This is one of the toughest tests you would ever take. I left my job with a handsome salary to prepare for this exam. I want to join civil service as I am passionate about it. This callousness and mediocrity are just unacceptable. They cannot play with our lives. It is a government job which you can only do for that long. Why are they wasting my years?” questions another applicant from Kamrup district.

Chairman Bhattacharya says he along with other members, has held discussions in order to address the issue. “APSC examination system involves many stakeholders. The teaching community has a big responsibility when it comes to setting questions and evaluating the answer keys. I am in touch with all the vice-chancellors, Assam College Teachers Association, and Assam College Principals’ Association. We have requested the members of the APSC commission to be in direct touch with the respective VCs. I have personally requested all for their support so that we can have a better examination system. It is a work in progress,” asserts the Chairman.

Work in progress is not good enough according to a female applicant who has cleared the prelims, appeared for the mains, and has been delaying her wedding since then. “If APSC cannot conduct the examinations with all fairness, they should just hand it over to the Union Public Service Commission. There is a constitutional provision to do so. The gap in the efficiency levels between the two commissions is huge, which is sad,” adds the applicant.

Bhattacharya says he took cognizance of the issues. “We are trying our best to complete the evaluation which as per my estimate should be done by late June or early July. After that, it all depends on the court as the matter is sub judice.”

If sources in the APSC are to be believed, then General Knowledge and English are the two subjects that are still being evaluated. “Rest all are done,” says a source close to the development.

While Bhattacharya refused to shed any light on result-declaration citing the legal restrictions, he hinted it is not that far. But for the applicants, they are counting every moment. To them, the chairman says, “Do not get nervous at this stage and trust that the APSC is doing everything possible to conduct the interviews.”