Less than 50 percent of candidates sit for APSC exam

Low attendance in CCE raises question of credibility

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Less than 50 per cent out of the total registered candidates have sat for the Combined Competitive Exams (CCE-Preliminary), 2021 for Assam Civil Service (ACS) and Allied Services, raising again the question of credibility of the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) which conducted the exams.

A total of 75,806 candidates were registered to appear in the CCE, 2021 from 392 centres from different parts of the State. Around 49 per cent of candidates appeared for the exam conducted on Sunday (September 12, 2021). Even though sources in the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) have attributed the low attendance in the CCE, 2021 to the present COVID-19 pandemic situation, experts are in a fix to find out the exact causes.

"At a time when unemployment is a burning problem in the State, it is quite surprising as to why only 49 per cent of candidates appeared for the CCE, 2021. The CCE is one of the most sought after exam for job seekers in Assam. The CCE was conducted by adhering to all COVID safety protocols. There is a need to find out the real causes behind such low attendance in the exam," a former member of APSC said.

The credibility of APSC was at an all-time low before the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in the State in 2016 following alleged corruption and unfair practices that took place in the recruitment of ACS and Allied Services candidates. Reform initiatives were initiated in early part of 2017 after APSC former chairman Rakesh Paul and few other officials of the commission were arrested on charges of involvement in the cash-for-job scam. Since then the number of students appearing for the CCE exam was quite encouraging.

"Only the meritorious candidates were being selected for ACS and allied services since 2017," a source in APSC said.

On the other hand, over 90 per cent attendance was recorded for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) in the Guwahati zone where nearly 18,000 candidates were registered to appear from 46 examination centres on Sunday. The attendance of students was better than last year when NEET recorded nearly 75 per cent attendance in Assam in the NEET held in mid-September 2020.

"In some of the centres in Guwahati, nearly 95 per cent of students sat for the all India medical entrance test or NEET. The development has sent a strong message that the students are ready to move ahead in their career even under the threat of COVID-19," an official of National Testing Agency (NTA) said. The NTA conducts the NEET.

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