More than 50% candidates give a miss to UPSC preliminary examination in Coimbatore

More than 50% of the registered candidates did not take the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) preliminary examination that was held at 25 centres in the district.

In the morning session, of the 10,952 candidates who were to take the examination in the district, 6,123 were absent and in the afternoon session, 6,173 were absent. The candidates took general studies and civil service aptitude test.

At an examination centre on Avinashi Road, the afternoon examination was delayed by 15 minutes as there was confusion in the availability of all four series of question papers. Only series A and B were available; series C and D were unavailable, forcing the government officials supervising the examination to ask the candidates to stop writing for 15 minutes, said Prof. P. Kanagaraj, who runs a free civil service coaching institute in the city. The officials did not compensate the time lost, he added.

The UPSC was scheduled to hold the preliminary examination in June this year, however it was postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic.

The district administration had made elaborate arrangements for the conduct of the civil service examination. Personnel posted at the examination centres screened candidates using thermal scanners, ensured that they wore masks and maintained physical distancing. While police personnel provided security, jammers were installed to bar mobile phone signals. The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation plied buses from various parts of the city to the examination centres.

Collector G.S. Sameeran inspected an examination centre allotted for differently abled candidates, said a release from the administration.