Antriksh Chib
J&K PSC has finally come out of their self imposed deafening silence by issuing date sheet for kas examination 2016 . Surely this has come as a relief for some, yet there is an overwhelming majority of those for whom the date sheet is no less than a nightmare. PSC has once again belied every assumption and laid bare every presumption. Everybody was so desperate for them to break their holy vow of inaction from last many months, but nobody had expected them to reciprocate the aspirations with such degree of callousness . As one of the aspirants told, “the date sheet has come as a shock to me”. He further added that he cannot describe the condition of his days and nights , “the condition of my nights cannot be described ,I long for peace amidst a sea of chaos and I have it only in those moments when I am able to sleep, which I hardly do ,as soon as I awake the restlessness and fretfulness returns, they take 8 months to declare a result and expect me to do wonders in 1 month” he tells in a dispirited mood .One can feel the sense of let down in his teary eyes. He is not the one in isolation , like him there are thousands who are dejected as they have every reason to be so.
The whole problem as everybody believes has been created by PSC’s carelessness. Had they taken due care before the prelims exam, the problem wont have surfaced in the first place and exam would have certainly finished by now. Their non methodical ways of doing things and the lack of professionalism has created such a mess that it seems a distant reality to get out of the abyss. It has become a norm for every JKPSC exam to get caught in multiple litigations resulting in undue delays and consequently chaos and frustration. As one of the renowed persons wrote recently on social media that JKPSC is in a state of transition and it is bound to be full of commotion and chaos. But we are seeing a state of confusion from a long time with no transition at all.
There are so many things that we want to write today and our heart is virtually bursting with tales but the dejection and despondency inside us impedes my expression. The only thing that we want to tell them today on behalf of thousands is that kindly postpone the mains examination as there are multiple reasons for the same, some of which we may list here –
* Now that PSC has declared the result of 2014 mains and we are quite sure that most of the students who are in the list will be writing 2016 mains also, it will be ideal to finish the interviews first and declare the final result in a month or so and after that conduct the exams for CCE 2016. That way 51 candidates (eventual selectees of CCE 2014) will be saved from the ordeal of writing mains again. We don’t understand the logic of putting these candidates through the tribulation of writing mains again, pertinent to mention here is the fact that if the exams happen as per your schedule there is every single chance that the eventual selectees of CCE 2014 will again find their names in the interview list of CCE 2016 (given that this time there are five times more posts than there were in CCE 2014), which means that they will be cutting down the chances of other probables. which will pave way for further litigation. This is a needless complication of things which can be easily avoided if the process of CCE 2014 is completed first and afterwards the CCE 2016. Moreover, those appearing for interviews will get only 7 days time to prepare, which by no means will be enough.
* There are 429 candidates who were expelled by PSC’s revised cut point and the court granted them interim relief by allowing them to sit in the mains examination to which PSC objected vehemently. The final decision is yet to come and the matter is still subjudice . Even if PSC allow them now they will be left with very little time to prepare . 30 days are not even enough for revision alone leave aside full preparation . Taking into consideration the time lost by them in the litigation process and the physical and the mental pain that these candidates had to go through,it will be gross injustice to them if exams are held as per schedule.This will be denial of equality of opportunity and their sitting in the exams will be no more than a formality.
* One of the important reasons for postponement of Mains exam is that the IAS exams conducted by UPSC are scheduled from 28th October to 3rd November. A very important and an efficient lot from the state is appearing in those exams. Since the pattern of these two exams is vastly different from each other and they will have only three days to get themselves ready for Mains examination here. We don’t know how can our own state Public Service Commission deny them this chance. Remembering that the same thing happened during Prelims exam 2016 when the date of prelims clashed directly with CGL Tier III exams and many students were forced to choose between the two. In a state where opportunities are so meagre, we all expect PSC to be more circumspect and meticulous in choosing the dates.Who knows next CCE may be happening after god knows how many years.
* The date sheet has been issued just a month before the scheduled exams, and given that the fate of exam is still hanging in courts, nobody had anticipated that the exams will be held at such a short notice. Everyone was sure that the mess will be sorted out first and then the proceedings will follow. And nobody from their side tried to clear the mist and kept everyone in dark. Even if they had to conduct the exams,the date sheet should have come much earlier so that nobody would have been caught off guard. The problem was further compounded by their lackadaisical approach from last many months . None had expected them to show such kind of expediency after months of slothfulness and dormancy. While we appreciate their eagerness to get things done now, but the kind of desperateness they are showing is surely uncalled for and is going to complicate the things further. It seems as if some kind of revenge is being extracted from the students. They seem to have taken a newspaper report about their inability to get any KAS exam completed from last 4 years seriously. It seems to have awaken them from their deep slumber and Suddenly they seem to have found their long lost agility and now they want to make a run ,sprint to the mark and finish the job . But may we tell them sir that while speed is good, over speed is fatal.
Yesterday itself HC Srinagar citing paucity of time posted the matter for hearing on 23rd October.
Amid all this how can PSC issue datesheet when the matter is still sub-judice.
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