The exam centres of the Telangana State Public Service Commission Group 1 Preliminary Re-exam (TSPSC Group 1 Prelims) were not compliant with the provisions given to Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD), candidates allege.
The TSPSC Group 1 Prelim was initially held on October 16 last year but was cancelled after it was revealed that there was a leak in the question paper. Amidst heavy protests and an ongoing Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigation, the exam was reconducted on June 11 this year.
The aspirants say that this time, the centres reportedly did not provide them with extra time for the completion of the exam, despite it being mentioned in the official notification.
What the notification says
The provisions given to PwBD candidates are mentioned in Annexure VI of the official notification of the TSPSC Group 1 Prelims exam, in Clause 8 (i, ii, iii) in the General Instructions to Candidates section.
The clause facilitates the provision of:
i. A scribe to candidates who are “totally blind”, along with the extra time of 20 minutes for every hour,
ii. A scribe for candidates who do not have both upper limbs for Orthopedically Handicapped, but have no extra time,
iii. An extra time of 20 minutes per hour for the candidates with locomotor disability and cerebral palsy, which hinder the candidate’s ability to write and eventually slow down their performance, as well as a scribe.
Locomotor disabilities include permanent injuries to the spine or limbs, dwarfism, amputation, neurological conditions, and cardiopulmonary diseases, which impair a candidate’s ability to move. Candidates with these disabilities and visual impairments will be given an extra time of 50 minutes to finish the exam.
Case of miscommunication?
When Amogha Arnava Viva, an aspirant from Hyderabad, confronted the invigilators on the flouting of these instructions during the exam on June 11, he was allegedly told that these provisions were nowhere mentioned in the rule book given to the centre, which was at the Government Degree College, Khairatabad.
“When the centre managers showed me the rule book they received from the TSPSC, the provisions of Clause 8 in Annexure IV were not mentioned anywhere,” he claimed, adding that the centre managers even refused to acknowledge the existence of such a clause.
“Because I was not visibly disabled, the invigilators asked me why I even needed extra time,” Arnava added. The 26-year-old suffered from a spinal injury three years ago, which makes mobility difficult for him.
Candidates say that when the TSPSC Group 1 Prelims were conducted last year, these provisions were strictly followed; which is why they assumed that it would be the case this time as well. However, they realised that it would be otherwise only at the last minute.
“At least, if the TSPSC had communicated that PwBD students would not be given extra time, we would have tried to finish the paper faster,” says Rajshekar, a candidate from Miryalaguda, Nalgonda District.
Rajshekar is a candidate with an 85% orthopedical disability. He assumed that he, like all PwBD candidates, will get an extension during the exam.
He says, “All PwBD candidates were allotted a separate exam room on the ground floor, so I assumed that provisions would be implemented properly. As a result, I was answering the questions on the question paper first and planned on marking them on the Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheet after I had answered all questions.”
However, he would experience a rude shock after two hours into the exam, when the invigilator allegedly reminded them that there was only half an hour left for the exam.
“This was a sudden shock for me, as I was answering the questions on the question paper and planned to mark the answers on the OMR once I was done. Even though I knew the answers to the questions, I was not able to mark them all on the OMR because of insufficient time. This has dented our chances of qualifying for Mains,” Rajshekar laments.
Rajshekar’s centre was at St Andrew’s High School in Saidabad.
Apathy from the TSPSC?
Arnava alleges that the centre management not only denied PwBD candidates the extra time they were entitled to but were also extremely rude to him when he confronted them about the same.
“They asked me why I would need extra time, and allotted me to the first floor despite the fact that I have a disability. Moreover, there was no lift, which was very inconvenient for PwBD candidates. This apathy and open flouting of the rules is extremely unbecoming of a Constitutional body such as the TSPSC,” Arnava says.
He elaborates that, for many candidates like him, this impacted their performance in the exam. “It is the duty of the Commission to ensure that their own exam centres follow the rules prescribed by them and that the candidates are able to give the exam smoothly and comfortably,” he says.
After the exam, when the candidates wanted to bring this issue to the TSPSC’s cognizance, they were made to wait for hours to no avail. “Despite filing an official complaint after the exam, we were given no avenue for redressal. We tried to seek an audience with the TSPSC Secretary Anitha Ramachandran, but we were denied that,” he claimed.
“We don’t know when the notification for the Group 1 exams would come next, what are we to do if our concerns are not addressed by TSPSC?” Arnava asks, saying that he is even prepared to approach the courts to seek justice.
Rajshekar says that this happened last time as well, during the TSPSC Divisional Account Officer exam, which was conducted on February 26 this year. “I even wrote a letter to the TSPSC regarding this, but nothing has been done about it so far,” he alleges.
Like Arnava, Rajshekar tried seeking redressal as well but was turned down by the officials.
“I was asked why I did not approach them on the day of the exam. It would be difficult for PwBD candidates to commute all the way to the TSPSC office on the very day of the exam. Moreover, what difference would it make? Would we get justice?’ he asks.
“All these incidents have only diminished my trust in TSPSC as an organisation,” says Rajshekar.
The candidates further allege that such incidents happened at all the exam centres of the TSPSC Group 1 Prelims Re-exam, but this is yet to be ascertained.
