In the quaint village of Ponugodu in the Suryapet district of Telangana, aspiration has one address — that of Uday Kiran.
A second-year Public Administration student, Uday’s reputation in his hometown precedes him. The elders look at him as a shining example of academic brilliance and seemed to have passed on the same sense of admiration to the young, who now look up to him. “The children of my village ask me for guidance on what and where to study next. Their parents come to me too,” admits the 24-year-old.
This is to be expected, given the fact that he pursued his undergraduate degree on an academic scholarship and passed out with a gold medal. This, coupled with the fact that he is now pursuing his Master's from Osmania University, has led to him being seen as an inspirational figure in his village.
When he appeared for TSPSC...
Thus, when the youngster appeared for the TSPSC Group 1 Preliminary exam last October, everyone around him was vouching for his success. “Apart from my family, I was carrying the aspirations of everyone from my village. There was a lot of pressure on me to succeed, but I had the support of my family,” he recalls.
As a happy coincidence, the results of the preliminary round were declared on the auspicious day of Sankranti and he qualified for Mains. “I was sure that the results would be out within three months. When I left for my hometown for the festival, I carried my hall ticket with me, anticipating the results. On the morning of 14, I woke up to many phone calls and that’s how I knew that the results were out. When I checked them, I was happy to see my hall ticket number among the qualified ones,” the young man says, “For my family, Sankranti became more festive, because I cleared such a prestigious exam!”
However, the celebrations had to be cut short — as the Main exam was approaching soon. “I wasted no time and left for Hyderabad after two days. I cut my vacation shorter to start studying, as I didn’t want to let go of this opportunity,” explains Uday. Utilising the campus library and study halls, he resumed his preparation and was hopeful to clear the mains exam as well.
However, this momentum was about to come to a grinding halt in a very tragic manner.
When the paper leak news came out
“When the news of the leak broke out, I was distressed to the point of tears,” Uday recounts. He recalls several of his friends and peers breaking down out of hopelessness.
Recalling his days of preparation, Uday says how he started even before the notification was out. “From January to October last year, I used to spend more than 12 hours a day in preparation. I even skipped going home for that duration. Even when I felt homesick, I just stayed on campus to study. All the time and money we spent studying for prelims and the rank we scored are now of no use,” he laments, “This is a huge blow to countless people like me.”
Meet Uday's family
Uday, who hails from an agricultural family, is the youngest of two. His father owns a small piece of land, on which he cultivates paddy. In addition, he also rears cows. His mother, a housewife, also helps with agricultural activities. His elder sister is a technical worker in Hyderabad and is the primary source of support for him, both financially and morally.
“My family has so many hopes on me. They sacrificed so much just so that I could study and lead a better life. A simple test series for preparation costs as much as Rs 20,000, which I had to pay up front — and they sent it to me without a second thought, despite not being able to afford it. They sacrificed their livelihood for my preparation. With the exam now cancelled, didn’t this sacrifice go to waste?” the young aspirant asks. “My sister, who is 25 years old, decided to wait until I make it to TSPSC to get married so that it won’t be a burden on our family. Apart from our families, hundreds of people expect great things from us. We are under a lot of pressure to not let anyone down,” he explains.
All those sacrifices of countless people
Uday is not the only one, there are countless others like him, whose hopes of a better future have been taken away by the corruption of a few, and the indifference of those in power. “I had seen women in institutes and study centres with their children, caring for their little ones while studying. I know government employees with families, who took unpaid leaves for months to focus on their preparation. Just like me, several students from rural Telangana move to the city for coaching centres, better exposure and other amenities. So many people had put their lives on hold to prepare for the Group 1 prelims and even qualified for mains. This incident just puts us back to where we started from and there is no guarantee that we would clear the re-examination despite covering the same material over and over again,” he says, talking about the plight of his peers.
Trusting TSPSC once again?
As the case unfolds, Uday has serious doubts about the TSPSC’s credibility. He remarks, “As an independent organisation, I thought that the TSPSC’s functioning would not depend on the vested interests of other individuals or organisations. But I was clearly wrong.” He wonders how such a big scandal could happen right under the nose of the TSPSC Chairman and suggests that the TSPSC must let another organisation take over the examination process if it cannot prevent such incidents from happening.
“Because of the greed of two people, so many candidates’ efforts have been in vain,” he says. Furthermore, he asserts that this scandal, and the TSPSC’s apathy while it was happening, further indicate that only the privileged can make it big in competitive exams. “If examination papers and positions can be bought, what chance do people like us have? Are competitive exams only meant for rich, upper caste and influential candidates? How can we make it in this unofficial spoils system?” he asks.
Despite his disillusionment with the commission, Uday still wants to attempt the prelims on the revised date. “For an Arts student like me, TSPSC is the only chance at a steady job, so I have to appear for it again,” he says. He would like it if the state government provides the candidates with financial aid for preparation and coaching and even reserves a certain number of seats for candidates who qualified the first time. In addition, he also wishes that the state government allows paid leaves for candidates who hold government jobs.
