PSC’s faux pass: Visually challenged candidates plea meets a dark end
A visually challenged candidate has accused Public Service Commission (PSC) of dropping his name despite securing high in written exam and interview.
Umar Rashid, a resident of Narwara Eidgah Srinagar appeared for PSC exam after the commission invited applications for the post of lecturers in Education department.
According to PSC, 11960 applications were received and 8945 candidates appeared in the written test on 18 December, 2016.
Umar has a Masters degree in Education and has qualified National Eligibility Test (NET), State Eligibility Test (SET) and is a junior research fellow.
Umar was dropped under Physically challenged quota while scoring 43.5 points and selected candidate got 45.5 points which seemed suspicious to him. While according to Umar, he has secured about 48 points after checking various third party answer keys.
“The commission at that time said that they can’t display the point scored by the aspirants till the selection list is out. We followed the procedure. After selection list was out, where I got 43 point while as the selected candidate got 45 points under disability category,” said Umar
Umar has filed an RTI application with PSC asking them to show him his OMR sheet plus OMR sheet of selected candidate including the Answer key. Ironically, PSC has denied the same saying this cannot be revealed.
“Initially I was asked to come on 21 July, a month after I filed a RTI in PSC. Then they asked me to come on 26 July. On July 26, they refused to give me my answer sheet or that of the other candidate,” Umar said.
Pertinently, the PSC has come under heavy criticism when it initially denied an answer sheet to a KAS aspirant in June 2017. After Chief Minister’s personal office intervened, Coordinator J&K Government Grievance Cell, Tassaduq Hussain Mufti has asked Chairman of Commission to disclose the answer keys to bring transparency.
According to the rules of the commission, it cannot display the answer key of any exams, as per the existing rule position. Although, the students can get the information under RTI provided they have sought information through RTI application.
“We will challenge the order in Information Commission but the question is why PSC does not want to show OMR sheets,” said RTI activist Raja Muzaffar Bhat.
Bhat questions the Commission, why it is not making itself accountable to aggrieved candidates?
“State Information Commission has passed about ten judgments till now asking the PSC to allow the candidates to check their answer sheets, but nothing happens there,” said Bhat.
“I again want to make it clear that RTI Act has an overriding effect on all rules and laws which prohibit making information public. PSC must proactively keep all OMR sheets available on its website like Rajasthan Public Service Commission,” he added.
KV Correspondent
