VIJAYAWADA: Telugu aspirants, who appeared for the Group-I Preliminary exam, have raised concerns over poor translation of questions, with approximately eight mistakes reported. Following this, they are advocating for a 1:100 ratio in selection of candidates for the Mains exam instead of 1:50.
The Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) had conducted the exam for 89 posts on March 17. While the APPSC has acknowledged translation discrepancies, it has explicitly stated that the English version of questions is final and the versions in other languages are provided solely for the convenience of the candidates’ understanding. Further, experts and retired officials have pointed out that the demand for a 1:100 ratio to qualify for Mains may not be a viable solution in every instance.
As many as 1,48,881 candidates had applied for the exam and 91,170 attended it at 301 centres.
Listing out the errors, the aspirants said ‘extremist phase’ was incorrectly translated as ‘Teevravaada Dasa’ instead of ‘Ativaada Dasa’ in the 22nd question in the history section.
‘Jains’ and ‘Prakrit’ were mentioned as ‘Prajainulu’ and ‘Kritam’, while ‘Bhrunam’ (foetus) was mistakenly given as “Pindam” (zygote).
In the 89th question, ‘smart biodegradable devices’ was stated as ‘Jeeva Vicchinnam’ (destruction of life), and ‘Gundrati Roopam’ (round shape) as ‘ring’ in the 90th question.
In the science and technology section, the 66th question mentioned the word ‘novel’ (meaning new/unique) as ‘navala’ (book).
Similarly, coastal guard ‘Yuddha Vimanalu’ (combat aircraft) was translated as coastal guard ‘Vyayamalu’ (exercise) in the 109th question.
The term ‘Parliamentary special privileges’ was incorrectly translated as ‘Parliamentary Adhikaaralu’ instead of ‘Parliamentari Visesha Adhikaaralu’. These translation errors significantly affected Telugu medium aspirants, leading to delays in understanding questions and navigating a lengthy paper. Despite employing shortcut techniques, some struggled with questions in the reasoning section.
AP Nirudyoga JAC president Samayam Hemanthakumar demanded grace marks for the aspirants, once the commission confirms the translation errors. He also advocated 1:100 ratio for selecting candidates for Mains exam.
APSSC member Salam Babu told TNIE that the English question paper will be deemed final. “In cases where the entire meaning of the question has changed due to incorrect translation, such questions will be referred to a committee of three experts. The commission will then take a decision based on the experts’ recommendation,” he explained.
He emphasised that all queries will be considered according to norms and decisions will be taken in the interest of the candidates. He highlighted that lengthy questions pose challenges for all aspirants and stressed that the examination should be viewed as competitive rather than a minimum pass mark public exam.
Additionally, Babu said the answer key for Group-II exams will be released by the end of March, and for Group-I in the first week of April. He further stated that the dates for the Main exams of both Group I and II will be announced soon.