From,
(TNPSC Group-I Services Aspirant),
To,
Mr. R. Sellamuthu, I.A.S
Chairman,
Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission,
Commercial Tax Annexure Building,
No.1 Greams Road,
Chennai-600006
Respected Sir,
Sub :
Group I – Preliminary Exam held on May 2, 2010 – request for increasing the selection ratio for admission to Main exam from
1:10 to Higher Ratio – Reg.
Ref:
(1)
TNPSC’s Group-I services notification vide advt No 221, dated 20.12.2009
(2) G.O MS No 603 Per.M, dated 12.6.1985, amended vide Govt Letter (D) 31715/Per-M/91-28, dated 28.11.1993
(3) Selection ratio adopted by the service commissions of other states & UPSC
We, the aspirants of Group-I services, wish to bring the following facts to your kind attention:
At present, in Group-I exam, as per G.O MS No 603 Per.M, dated 12.6.1985, amended vide Govt Letter (D) 31715/Per-M/91-28, dated 28.11.1993, TNPSC adopts the 1:10 ratio (10 times the number of vacancies) for selecting candidates to the Main written examination from those who have appeared for the Preliminary exam. As there only 61 vacancies this year, just about 610 students will get the chance to write the main examination.
From media reports, we gather that about 93,000 candidates have taken the preliminary examination held on May 2, 2010. So, only
0.6% of the candidates will be shortlisted for the next level.
- Total Number of Candidates: 93,000
- Vacancies: 61
- Ratio of candidates taking prelims: 1:1524
- No of Candidates to be Admitted for Main Exam: 610 as per 1:10 ratio
- Selection Percentage: 0.6%
- Selection Chance for Open Competition (Men): 0.1%
- Rejection Percentage at Prelims – 99.4 %
From the foregoing, it is clear that only a handful get the chance to proceed to the next level of selection. Though the very purpose of the preliminary examination is to weed out non-serious candidates, the 1:10 selection ratio deprives hundreds of serious candidates too from taking the Main written exam, the real exam for selection.
The preliminary examination weeds out 99.4 % of the aspirants. Cogency of thought and expression, analytical thinking are all tested only at the Main exam stage. But, due to the adoption of the 1:10 rule, a large number of candidates who possess good writing skills and aptitude for administration do not get a chance to appear at the main exam at all.
The important aspect of this process is that a lot of ‘environmental’ factors contribute for the success or failure of the students. Ambiguous questions, wrong options etc also play a significant role, though TNPSC takes sincere action to make corrections after getting the feedback of the students.
With number of vacancies remaining low, competition becoming very stiff and interplay of environmental factors severe, the rejection percentage at the preliminary examination should not be so high.
Especially, when Main Examination is the real test of selection, rejecting 99.4% of the candidates at the gate itself does not sound fair.
An analysis of the selection process of the current year’s UPSC exam:
- Total No of candidates appeared for Prelims: 1,93,091
- No of candidates admitted to Mains: 12,026
- Selection Percentage: 6.2%
- Rejection percentage at Prelims – 93.8%
Scenario Elsewhere
As you may be aware, the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission adopts
1:50 ratio successfully for the past several years. This gives ample opportunity for the youths to compete well. Bihar PSC allows all those who obtain 40% and above at the Prelims to take the main exam. Karnataka
(1:20), Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and even the UPSC adopt a higher selection ratio in the prelims.
1:50 ratio in Tamil Nadu – The Appeal
At present, the ratio followed by TNPSC (1:10) is the lowest in the country.
If TNPSC adopts
1:50 ratio, about 3050 students will get a chance to write the Main Examination this year. That means,
3.2 % of the aspirants will be selected for the next level. 1:50 ratio will be very much manageable as only a few thousands will take the Main exam every year. The number of vacancies has hovered around 60-100 every year, barring 2007 when the vacancies were 172 as the exam was held after a gap of 6 years.
The TNPSC website states that during the 1960s, the competition for Group-I services remained at the rate of 1:6, it got increased to 1:35 in the 70s and in 1992, it rose to 1:1000. At present, for a single post, nearly 1524 candidates are competing at the Prelims – so the ratio has risen to
1:1524. The present system of 1:10 rule was formulated nearly two decades ago when the competition was not so stiff. Should the selection ratio not be increased in proportion to the competition?
From 1:1524 at the prelims, a filtration of 1:10 at Main exam stage seems very drastic. 1:50 would be more appropriate and manageable.
Apart from communal reservation, the reservation for women and differently-abled persons have complicated the scenario further.
So, adoption of 1:50 selection ratio in the preliminary examination will ensure fairness in competition.
On behalf of thousands of aspirants, we appeal to you Sir, to increase the selection ratio to 1:50 for this year’s exam by suitably amending the G.O MS No 603 Per.M, dated 12.6.1985 and enable more students to appear at the main exam, the real test for selection.
Thanking You,
Place: Chennai. Yours Sincerely,
Date :
Copy to:
The Secretary,
Personnel and Administrative Reforms,
Secretariat,
Chennai.
