Owing to tough questions in Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) on Sunday, rural candidates who appeared for the Civil Services preliminary examination in the State have reiterated their demand for scrapping of the CSAT.
“CSAT was extremely tough. I have done well in the first paper. But I am concerned about securing the qualifying mark of 33 percent in CSAT. This paper will only help students with urban background. I am from a village,” said R.Mauriyan, who appeared for the Civil Services Examination in Chennai. Mr. Mauriyan has done his Aeronautical Engineering from Anna University.
More than 30,000 candidates from the State appear for the examination every year.
The Union Public Service Commission had decided to make CSAT a qualifying paper for the Civil Services exams following protests from various students’ organisations.
“Many students who have done well in general studies have not been able to answer most questions in CSAT. This will affect rural candidates,” said Aeron Israel Jebasingh, an IAS officer who has resigned his job from West Bengal cadre to train rural students in the State.
“English part in CSAT has been removed based on the demands from north Indian aspirants, which gives a comparative advantage for Hindi speaking students and disadvantage for students from non-Hindi belt,” said S.Bala, who spearheaded the protest in the State.
The civil services examination was conducted in English till 1965 which provided a level playing field for all students across India. From 1965 the exam is conducted in both English and Hindi. This gives a clear advantage for Hindi-speaking students, he points out.
“Hindi speaking candidates get questions in their mother tongue but other students do not have that advantage. Equality in UPSC examination can be ensured only when the exam is conducted in all the 22 languages mentioned in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution and by scraping CSAT,” Mr. Bala said.
“We filed an RTI. But the UPSC is yet to define CSAT. The demand for scrapping CSAT has intensified now. Students from rural background or those pursuing other Indian languages and non-technical backgrounds should get an equal platform. They have to revamp the whole system,” said Ganesa Subramanian, a trainer.
Candidates who score around 110 out of 200 are likely to qualify for the mains examination.
