BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Information Commission (OIC) has passed an order stating that marks obtained by a job aspirant in an interview cannot be held back by the Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC). The aspirant has every right to know the marks that he/she obtained in an interview, it stated.
The State Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) on September 2 directed OPSC to provide interview marks to Minati Rani Mohapatra of Bhadrak who was not selected for the post of assistant teacher in the year 2022. OPSC conducted the recruitment exam for assistant teacher posts and the selection was based on career and interview marks.
When Minati did not find her name in the list of selected candidates, she filed an RTI application in December 2022 seeking details of marks that she scored in both career evaluation and interview. While the OPSC provided her the career marks, it refused the give her the interview score on the ground that a decision was taken by it the same year not to disclose it to any candidate.
During hearing, the OPSC argued before the Information Commission that no interview marks are recorded nor any minimum marks fixed for selection of candidates in such posts because an interview is a test of a candidate’s personality, speaking skills, etc. In the interview, only suitability for the post is decided. The candidates are only informed if they have been found suitable for the post or not, and specific scores are not disclosed nor any merit list published.
However, the CIC Manoj Parida held that such a decision of OPSC was contrary to the provisions of the RTI Act. “The candidate has the right to know the marks scored in the interview, so that he/she can improve his/her performance in the next attempt. Every candidate, particularly, the candidates who have failed the test have a right to know as to why they could not succeed.
The OPSC cannot keep the candidates in the dark,” he said. Parida advised the OPSC to change its procedure and to provide details regarding marks to the candidates. “In future, the OPSC may consider having clear quantifiable assessment marks for every stage of selection of candidates, so that the latter can exercise their right to information under the RTI Act, 2005,” he observed.