For Dr Aditya Gajjala, serving society through his profession was not enough; he felt like he had to do more. This is what compelled him to want to crack the TSPSC Group 1 exam.
The young man, who is a Junior Resident at Osmania General Hospital, is motivated by the lack of adequate care in government hospitals. “We lack basic equipment to treat the simplest of ailments. As junior residents, we are not in a position to change things,” says the 26-year-old. He wonders what the point of being a doctor was if he was not able to give his patients the proper care they needed. “Having studied so hard, I was not able to make good use of my education in such conditions,” he recalls.
He realised that, as a Group 1 Officer in the TSPSC, he could enact the measures needed to improve Telangana’s public healthcare system - and thus, began preparing for the TSPSC Group 1 Prelim as soon as the notification was out.
Job vs. Preparation - Striking the Balance
Like so many working professionals who attempted the exam, Aditya too had to balance his day job and his preparation. “I used to treat my patients from 9 AM to 2 PM, and devote my evenings to studying,” he says. Tackling the syllabus section-wise, he admittedly took 5 months to finish preparation. “In the last month before the examination date, I only attempted mock tests and revised what I prepared,” the young doctor says.
In addition to this, he even signed up for online coaching services to prepare better, especially for the essay writing and data interpretation parts.
As with such an important exam, preparation was not easy by any means. “I had to study everything about the state of Telangana in-depth, and it was difficult finding the right study material for it. For example, there was not much material on Telangana poets and literature except for Telugu Akademi’s textbooks. There were also questions about districts and villages whose very existence is unknown to many, except for candidates who hail from there,” he explains.
A Spike in Confidence
Writing the exam was an exhilarating process for the young doctor. “The standard of the paper was extremely high - so much that even candidates who have appeared for the UPSC exam found it challenging,” he says. Due to these standards, he also realised that the cut-off marks would not be very high.
However, he admits to feeling very happy seeing so many questions about Telangana, particularly his hometown. “I hail from Khammam and grew up in Kothagudem, and seeing a question about the State Palm Oil mission gave me a sense of familiarity. It felt as if a lot of overlooked parts of Telangana were finally in the spotlight,” he said, while also joking that non-local candidates would have found the paper rather difficult.
When the result was out, Aditya recalls experiencing a confidence boost. “I scored 74 marks while availing reservation as a BC candidate,” he says, “and it was obvious that I qualified for Mains.” Having cleared such a tough exam, he felt that clearing the main exam would not be very difficult.
Looming Uncertainty
However, this feeling of confidence would soon be replaced by one of anxiety, with the news of the question paper leak and the subsequent cancellation of the Preliminary Exam. “I felt extremely discouraged, and lost all motivation to study,” recalls Aditya. With the ongoing SIT investigation and its impending findings, and State Elections approaching, he believes that it is highly unlikely that the exam will be conducted smoothly.
Amidst this uncertainty, Aditya wonders if his efforts - be it his preparation, the monetary costs he had to endure, or the time he had to put in - would pay off at all. “It cost me Rs. 30,000 for online coaching, study material, and mock test series. In addition, I took a one-month break from work to prepare, meaning that I had no income for that month. This is just one aspect of what went into my preparation,” he laments. He notes how difficult it was to bear his preparation costs, manage his daily expenses, and support his family all at once, and wonders if it was worth going through this ordeal again.
Lack of Security - a Shared Sentiment
This feeling is felt by a lot of candidates, especially those who qualified the first time, the doctor says. “At my coaching institute, there are about 400 students in my batch, and we used to communicate through a Telegram group. Before the news of the leak, the group used to be buzzing with discussions, and each of us used to attempt the mock tests religiously every day. Now, there are hardly 4 candidates active,” he explains.
Reflecting on this lack of morale, he says “This uncertainty is getting to everyone. Every candidate I know has put their life on hold, just to contribute to Telangana’s development. Now, they are unable to do it all over again.”
With this leak and the TSPSC’s lack of accountability, he says that the candidates are unable to trust the Commission anymore, and are going back to their old jobs. “Most of these candidates have families depending on them, and a roadblock in their future will affect their families severely. They find it easier to provide for their families with their current income than to invest so much time and effort a second time,” they said.
What Next…
For now, Aditya is waiting for the SIT to finally disclose its findings, and for the State Government to take any action on the case before he resumes his preparation. Going forward, he wishes for a complete revamp of the TSPSC’s functioning and security, so that such incidents would not happen again. He even suggests the state’s blooming innovation in Information Technology be used in digitising the TSPSC’s operations.
