BANGALORE: The Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) will not announce the marks scored by candidates in the main examination till it completes the entire recruitment process.
Speaking after releasing the KPSC Handbook and Citizen Charter here on Wednesday, the chief minister said this will help prevent irregularities in recruitments. The KPSC has revised its handbook after 36 years.
Siddaramaiah said the KPSC’s practice of announcing the marks before the interview leaves room for irregularities. “The PC Hota Committee Report too recommended the abolition of this system and we had agreed to it. From now on, the UPSC model will be followed,” he said.
The chief minister said KPSC Chairman (In-charge) Krishnaprasad and the Hota Committee had recommended waiving the fee of women candidates taking the exams.
“We will consider implementing this recommendation as it would encourage more women to take the exams,” he said.
Pointing out that gazetted officers, superintendents of police, sub-registrars and other officers are selected through the KPSC exams, Siddaramaiah said: “If irregularities creep in during the process of selection, candidates chosen would become corrupt as well.”
Calling upon the KPSC members to practise transparency, he said: “If you make a mistake, we will have to answer for it in public as well as in the session.”
Online KPSC Exams
Krishnaprasad said there is a proposal to introduce online KPSC exams. The Rajasthan Public Service Commission has already introduced such a system, and the KPSC is proposing to conduct department-wise online exams on a trial basis.
He said at present candidates are being interviewed at a 1:3 ratio (three candidates interviewed for one post). This should be made into 1:2, similar to UPSC, he said. Krishnaprasad urged the chief minister to approve `28 crore for setting up a KPSC examination and valuation centre.He said they proposed to introduce a uniform syllabus in KPSC, which has been framed in consultation with the vice-chancellors of various universities.
Siddu Narrates Story Behind Anna Bhagya
According to Siddaramaiah, Anna Bhagya scheme was launched not to attract voters. He said in his village in Mysore, 60 pc of the land was not irrigated and people didn’t grow rice. He said: “Rice was not part our daily diet. People who did not cultivate rice used to eat it only during festivals. When kids were suffering from fever or diarrhoea they used to be fed rice as eating ragi would cause indigestion. The image of people begging for rice is still so vivid in my mind. Only those who are hungry know the value of rice. That is why the Anna Bhagya scheme was introduced.”