The Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) has rescheduled the Review Officer (RO) and Assistant Review Officer (ARO) examinations and now, the exams will be held on December 7 and 8, 2024 as opposed to the earlier date of October 27. This change was announced, yesterday, Wednesday, October 16 to accommodate the nearly six lakh candidates registered for the test.
However, this two-day shift has sparked protests in Prayagraj and aspirants have been demonstrating for approximately three days, demanding that the exam be conducted in a single day and one shift.
Students argue that the two-shift format could lead to complications with score normalisation, which they fear may negatively impact their results. This concern echoes similar issues raised by NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) aspirants in the recent past.
Students have also taken to social media to express their dissatisfaction, with the hashtag "#uppsc_oneshift_onedayexam" trending on X.
An X user, Ajir Ketu Verma (@AjirKetuVerma), an assistant teacher as per his bio, wrote, "Mental harassment of youth must be stopped. The examination should be conducted on time, fairly, and in one day #uppsc_oneshift_onedayexam."
Another X user, Avanish Singh (@theavanishsingh), urged the authorities, saying, "We students humbly request both the Uttar Pradesh government and the commission to conduct the upcoming UPPCS and UP RO/ARO in one day instead of two shifts."
In addition to this, as per sources, students have also reached out to the authorities such as the UP Public Service Commission to present a memorandum to the officials, on October 15 and 16, demanding that the preliminary examination be conducted on a single day and in one shift.
Speaking to one of the students, EdexLive learned that protesting students mainly have two demands:
1. If the officials don't find the appropriate centre for students, they should postpone the examination
2. The exam should be conducted in one shift with no normalisation
One of the protesting students, who spoke to EdexLive on the condition of anonymity, mentioned that several issues arise because of the normalisation process.
“Sometimes, there are a few answers missing from the final answer key, which leads to confusion for many of us, especially when we check the results. Not only this, we have also noted several changes in the questions as well," claimed the student.
Speaking about the management and exam conducting body, the student said, "Authorities should form strong management internally that will ensure a seamless exam procedure."
"There should be no normalisation at any cost," concluded the student
Along with this, the student also emphasised that the SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) by the exam conducting body should be modified to avoid paper leaks.
