MPSC exam pattern: students place 23 demands before reform panel

Student anger over the Maharashtra Public Service Commission's (MPSC) examination pattern has come out into the open. On Wednesday, students placed a full list of 23 demands before the high-level recruitment exam reform committee headed by additional chief secretary V. Radha.

Heavy security arrangements were made for this dialogue session in Nagpur. The planning department building looked like a police camp that day, and every student was thoroughly checked before being allowed in.

Students expressed the most anger over the online exam and the descriptive pattern. They said online exams increase the scope for mass copying and irregularities, so exams should be held offline only. They also demanded that the old objective multiple-choice pattern be reinstated for the main exam instead of the descriptive pattern, alleging that the commission does not have a competent mechanism to fairly evaluate descriptive answer sheets.

Students also demanded that appointments be given only after strict verification of sports, disability or educational certificates, and asked for the "opting out" option to be reintroduced effectively.

To speed up the commission's work, students demanded that the number of MPSC members be increased from 5 to 11. They also suggested starting MPSC regional offices and helplines in Pune, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Amravati, Nagpur district and Nashik for students' convenience.

Other key demands included scrapping the fee for raising objections to wrong questions in question papers, or refunding the fee if an objection is found correct; making preliminary exam marks public; and declaring results within 20 to 21 days of the exam. They also demanded that the annual timetable for all Group A to C exams be released before Diwali and followed strictly.

Students also demanded more direct recruitment posts through MPSC instead of promotions. They sought a separate committee for a judicial inquiry into all disputed exams held since 2021, and an annual government audit of MPSC officials and staff. They also demanded that the inquiry report into the paper leak in the drug inspector recruitment exam be made public.