As many as 22 students of Azhagiya Kadan (AK) IAS Academy in Chennai cleared the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission’s (TNPSC) Group II examinations. Almost 90 per cent of these candidates are engineering graduates and Group II services are only a stopgap arrangement in their journey towards becoming civil servants.
For the AK IAS Academy, launched in 2012 to prepare Muslim boys and girls for Civil Service Examinations, selection of 22 students by the TNPSC was no mean achievement.
“First time in the history of Tamil Nadu, these many Muslim students cleared from a single academy,” said Arif Ahamed, administrative officer of the Academy, functioning from the Makka Masjid on the arterial Anna Salai.
Mohamed Meerasahib, 24, who has secured fifth rank, is a student a top-notch engineering college. “Last time, I could not clear the main examinations of the UPSC. Now I am writing the mains. While I am happy about clearing the Group II examination, my goal is to enter civil services,” said Meerasahib. T. Sheik Mohammed, another engineering graduate who has won the 57 place, also echoed the similar view. Mr. Arif explained that though students from all academic background wrote the entrance test for joining the IAS academy run free of cost for Muslim students, engineering graduates were ahead of others in clearing the tests and interviews. Mohameed Waseem, 24, said that till his final years in the engineering colleges, he dreamt of a lucrative career in the IT industry. “Then I realised that I am not cut out for the industry and changed my plans and started preparing for civil service examinations,” said Waseem, who has secured 24 place in the Group II examinations.
