Several job aspirants in Kerala have raised concerns after the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) scheduled the Sub Inspector (SI) Trainee examination on August 30, the same day as the UPSC Civil Services Mains.

The overlap has left many candidates, who had been preparing for both, in a dilemma, reported The Times of India.

In a joint letter to the PSC chairperson, six aspirants, Vishnu H, Siva Sankar J S, Meharub M, Musthafa M A, Jiger Thomas and Vishnu P K, urged the Commission to reconsider the exam date.

“Due to this clash, candidates preparing for both exams are facing severe difficulties. Therefore, we humbly request the PSC to kindly postpone the Sub Inspector exam to another convenient date, so that aspirants will not be deprived of either opportunity,” the letter stated.

However, with PSC already releasing hall tickets for the SI exam, candidates fear their appeals may go unheard.

“This means that we will be forced to miss the exam unless there is a high-level intervention,” said Sankar, a candidate from Thiruvananthapuram.

Another aspirant, Aishwarya S, highlighted the long-term impact of the scheduling conflict. 

“We were preparing for both examinations for a considerable time. This decision has caused a significant setback and we hope measures are taken to prevent such situations in the future,” she said.

With no changes announced so far, most candidates say they are left with little choice but to prioritise the UPSC Civil Services Mains over the state-level SI examination, despite months of preparation for both.