Controversy Over HPPSC Exams: Aspirants Cry Foul, Commission Responds
Dharamshala:* Many aspirants of the Himachal Pradesh Administrative Services (HAS) have raised objections regarding the prelims exam conducted by the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (HPPSC) in June this year.
The aspirants claim that the exam, which was supposed to be bilingual, was predominantly in English, which they believe is unfair to Hindi medium students. They have also criticized the commission’s scrap policy.
“We have to pay to raise our objections with the commission. They are placing wrong questions and then scrapping them. What is our fault in this? Are they doing business by placing wrong questions and then earning from it?” said an aggrieved aspirant, Rajesh Kumar.
Kamal Thakur, a mentor for the aspirants, said that the commission has made complex rules but has not conducted awareness campaigns for them.
“The HPPSC always makes mistakes in every exam they conduct. Should students focus on their studies or study the commission’s rules? You can check the record. Students have always raised objections, but all in vain. The HPPSC should lend a helping hand in this digital age to simplify the process for aspirants,” he added.
Another aspirant, Govind Kumar, mentioned that there were three questions with incorrect answer options. “One was related to a train, one was in the context of a calendar, and another was about rectangles – the majority of them were from the reasoning part of the paper,” he said.
BOX: What HPPSC Has to Say:*
Chairman of the HPPSC, Rameshwar Singh Thakur, when contacted over the phone, said that these issues cannot be clarified over the phone. “We have done a lot of reforms to bring transparency and openness in our working. Everyone cannot be satisfied in this age of competition. We always welcome suggestions to improve our work. No one has approached or written to me on this. We are open to discussing and bringing changes that are beneficial for the system but not for a few,” he added.
Col Rajesh Sharma, a member of the commission, replied to the queries stating that they are with the public and aspirants have every right to raise their objections, and the commission will look into them.
ENDS
