More than 55 percent of civil service aspirants who had registered did not turn up for the preliminary Civil Services Examination (CSE) held in the district on Sunday. Being held by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the prestigious examination aims at filling 896 existing vacancies in the posts including Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise).
The preliminary CSE comprises of two compulsory papers that are of the objective type (multiple choice questions), allotted 200 marks each. Each of the papers were held for a duration of two hours each. In Madurai district, the examination was held in 17 centres. Of the total 7,292 aspirants who registered for the exam, 3,275 candidates appeared in the forenoon session (9.30 am to 11.30 am) while 3,233 candidates appeared in the afternoon session (2.30 pm to 4.30 pm). Thus, 44.92 percent candidates turned up for the exam in the forenoon session while 44.3 percent candidates appeared in the forenoon session.
Meanwhile, 4,017 aspirants did not take up the examination in the forenoon session and 4,059 candidates were absent during the afternoon session, recording an absenteeism percentage of 55.08 percent and 55.7 percent respectively. The results for the examination are expected to be out next month and the CSE Main examination is scheduled to be conducted on September 20.