Around 300 Group-1 service aspirants are demanding the AP State Public Service Commission (APPSC) reevaluate their mains exam results, alleging discrepancy due to potential "technical errors." According to the aspirants who reached out to the APPSC, hundreds of candidates who managed to clear the Union Public Services Commission were eliminated or did not qualify for the interview.
While around 100 candidates met with the secretary of the APPSC on Monday, at least 200 people have filed their representation online. The aspirants approaching the secretary stated, "The issue is not about an individual candidate not clearing. It is about the wholesale elimination of many good candidates. Hence there is grievance among many candidates that some technical error may have taken place, leading to a discrepancy in the results."
Citing past "technical glitches,” the candidates suspected that the digital mode of evaluation, which the commission has adopted for the first time, could have resulted in errors in the final result. Candidates said that when the digital evaluation was adopted, it was not mentioned in the notification to them. They have requested the Commission to provide details about measures that were taken to ensure the answer scripts suitable for digital evaluation.
About 6,800 candidates participated in the APPSC-conducted Group 1-Mains exam, while as many as 168 state-level civil services positions, including such as Deputy Collector, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP), Commercial Taxes Officer, Road Transport Officer. The APPSC announced results in which 326 candidates cleared the exam, qualifying for the interview.
Speaking to TNM on the condition of anonymity, an aspirant said, "There is no correlation between the results of present Group 1 mains and UPSC results and other APPSC results. Those who performed better in other exams, including UPSC, were not qualified for mains. A whole range of candidates was eliminated. There must have been a massive technical fall out."
Another aspirant from West Godavari said, "At least 100 scripts should be evaluated offline to check whether they are consistent with the marks awarded in the digital correction format.”
"UPSC releases the name wise and category-wise results. What is the problem with APPSC giving them when UPSC is giving? We urge the commission to reveal the scripts and marks of unselected candidates beside scripts of toppers,” he continued.
The APPSC Secretary is said to not have considered the demands of the aspirants who are claiming that they want to establish their credibility in the system.