THOOTHUKUDI:The recent notification of the Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions making the aptitude paper in the Civil Services preliminary examination as a mere qualifying paper has come as a boost to rural students. At the same time, it has dealt a major blow to urban elites, who have been clearing the preliminary examination purely based on the aptitude paper.
In the notification that was issued on Wednesday, the ministry has stated the General Studies Paper-II (Civil Services Aptitude Test) in the civil services preliminary examination will remain a qualifying paper with a minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33 per cent.
The notification otherwise means that those candidates who score high marks in paper I of General Studies would get selected for the main examination as they need to score just 33 per cent in paper II (CSAT).
This notification is a reversal of the four-year policy of the Union Public Service Examination (UPSC), which had given importance to CSAT. Experts have opined that the notification would favour rural students and those who had prepared in the old style before the introduction of CSAT.
Speaking to Express, Shankar, director of Shankar IAS Academy, Chennai claimed that the notification would favour rural and semi-urban students.
He also said that urban elite students from IITs and IIMs who relied largely on CSAT to clear the preliminary examination would struggle with the changes and they need to perform well in the General Studies paper to clear the prelims.
“No doubt that urban elite students would find the notification tough,” Shankar told Express.
When asked whether admission would be affected, he claimed that those institutes that had traditionally given importance to General Studies paper would not suffer but those that had mushroomed post introduction of CSAT would struggle.
Senthil, director of Time Institute for Civil Services, is also of the same opinion. He claimed that the notification would provide relief to students with arts and science background and to those who had started their preparations before the introduction of the new format.
Rural students aspiring to become civil servants are happy now. Saravanan, a BBA graduate from Rajapalayam, who is now preparing for the civil services in Chennai, claimed that he had been trying hard to crack the preliminary examination for the last three years but could not qualify because of CSAT.
That CSAT has been made only a qualifying paper, it would help students like him to clear prelims and appear for the main examination, Saravanan opined.
He also said that engineering graduates held an undue advantage with CSAT and now the prelims would serve as a level playing field. Civil services examination is conducted in three phases - preliminary, main examination and the personal interview.
CSAT had replaced optional papers in 2011 and had seen multiple changes in the last four years since its introduction.