ALAPPUZHA: The Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) has cancelled the afternoon session of the Last Grade Servant examination held on Saturday after a serious lapse in the distribution of question papers at an examination centre in Alappuzha.
The examination was conducted in two sessions, morning and afternoon, due to the large number of candidates. Separate question papers had been prepared for each session.
However, at the examination centre set up at Lajnath School in Alappuzha, candidates appearing for the morning session were mistakenly given the question paper intended for the afternoon examination. The error came to light only after the morning examination had concluded.
As the afternoon question paper had already been exposed, the PSC decided to cancel the afternoon examination.
The Commission also announced that the morning examination at the affected centre in Alappuzha will be conducted again. However, the answer scripts of candidates who appeared for the morning session at all other examination centres across the state will be evaluated as scheduled.
The PSC said strict action will be taken against the official responsible for the serious lapse in the conduct of the examination.
The revised dates for the cancelled and re-conducted examinations will be announced by the Commission later.
More than 1.5 lakh aspirants applied for the examination for the selection of Last Grade Servants in companies, corporations and boards, Storeman in KTDC, and LD Clerk in the Beverages Corporation.
The PSC scheduled the examination in different stages as part of the tenth-level preliminary examination. The morning session was held from 10 am to 11.35 am, while the afternoon session was scheduled from 1.30 pm to 3.05 pm.
