Governor calls APSC chief to Raj Bhavan

 '...in general studies a candidate secured full marks even as he wrote on 'conditions of child labour' in place of 'causes of child labour'. The same candidate got full credit even as he wrongly defined 'Richter Scale', while a candidate who wrote the correct definition of Richter Scale got half the credit. Was the paper of general studies evaluated by hands of a demon.' -  Prasanta Singh

More APSC skeletons in the closet!

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, June 20: The Governor of Assam has summoned the Chairman of the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) Rakesh Paul and asked him to meet him at 12 noon on June 21 at Raj Bhavan. This is a significant move on the part of the Governor that may land the APSC chief in troubled waters.   

The Governor has also summoned Assam Public Works (APW) chairman Abhijit Sarma to meet him in Raj Bhavan at 1 pm tomorrow and RTI activist Dulal Bora at 1 pm.

Both Abhijit Sarma and Dulal Bora have brought serious allegations against the APSC chief on the anomalies in the ACS examitions. 

Meanwhile, more Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) skeletons in the closets! By sleight of their hands, while both examiners and scrutinizer showered undue credit on some candidates, they robbed some brilliant candidates of their due credit, said Prasanta Singh here today.

Addressing the press in the city today, Singh showed some answer scripts of some APSC candidates that were obtained through the RTI. The answer scripts are full of error made on the part of examiners and scrutiniser, besides violation of the standing rules of evaluation and scrutiny.

Terming the incident as has been done by a 'hand of demon', Singh said: "Marks of some candidates were lowered by cutting/manipulating the mark awarded during evaluation. If it is done by one who evaluated the answer script, she/she should have signed there. If it is done during the scrutiny, the person should have signed it duly. In another incident, the answer given by the candidate is correct, but the mark has been lowered by cutting/manipulating the marks awarded. In the same answer script, it is found that marks are lowered by cutting/manipulating the marks given as well as without the sigture. How come the examiner/scrutinizer signed in some answers and don't sign in other answers when he/she lowered the marks in the same answer sheet?"

Singh further said: "The second examiner/scrutinizer has lowered the marks without signing it. The examiner is seen to have given marks without giving any correct/incorrect symbol."

Singh said: "There are culpable activities relating to the suspected candidates. The examiner has awarded 10 out of 10, 8 out of 8, 6 out of 6 and 2 out of 2 in general studies paper even as those candidates have not written what is asked and haven't written all parts of the questions. For example, in general studies a candidate secured full marks even as he wrote on 'conditions of child labour' in place of 'causes of child labour'. The same candidate got full credit even as he wrongly defined 'Richter Scale', while a candidate who wrote the correct definition of Richter Scale got half the credit. Was the paper of general studies evaluated by hands of a demon."

According to Singh, an examiner marked crossed on two correct answers on the unitary features of the Constitution of India in the general studies paper. "So it is doubtful that some of the examiners of general studies may be fakes ones," Singh said.