Gujarati students upset over new UPSC examination pattern

Scores of Gujarati students preparing  to join Civil Services are upset with the new pattern of ICS exam announced by Union Public Service Commission. They believe the move will affect their chances of making it to the final list. It was largely due to the weightage of Gujarati language, that as many as 55 candidates could clear the exams in the last five years. The changed rules will close down linguistic concessions offered by the UPSC to all vernacular language including Gujarati. The new pattern is also expected to reverse the trend in the overall selection process.

Aspirants say the move is a violation of their fundamental right of equality and expression. According to the new exam pattern, if an aspirant's medium of instruction at graduation level is not Gujarati, he shall not be allowed to write exams in Gujarati.

Among the major changes to be introduced this year are English language papers, the score of which will be taken into account in the final selection for top jobs. Earlier, candidates had to qualify in English and another language paper. But, the score in these two language papers was counted for the short-listing. Another restrictive provision is that a Gujarati candidate cannot opt for Gujarati literature as optional subject, if the candidate has not graduated in it.

Another ambiguity is that UPSC has notified that the commission will have the discretion to fix qualifying marks in any or all papers of examination. This indicates that if a Gujarati student does well in all the papers, but fails to score minimum marks in English paper, his selection into the merit list would be impossible. Unlike the earlier pattern, which often favoured aspirants with subject knowledge, the UPSC has now introduced four general studies papers of 250 marks each instead of two papers of 300 marks each. The general studies papers will carry 1,000 marks henceforth.

Besides, there will be two optional papers of 250 marks each instead of four papers of 300 marks each earlier. The weightage on the optional papers will also be reduced from 1,200 to 500 marks. The total marks for the main exam will be 1,800.