Modified On Jun 10, 2023 10:17 AM by Mahaveer, Views: 26
The Pre Paper of UPSC Civil Services 2023 was held on 28th May 2023. After the paper, a controversy has arisen regarding some questions asked in Paper 2 of the exam i.e. CSAT. There is a lot of talk on this on social media as well. The candidates have now reached the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) regarding this matter. The petition has been filed. Candidates allege that some questions in CSAT paper were asked of CAT and IIT JEE level.
Some candidates who appeared for the 2023 Civil Services Examination have filed challenges against the Aptitude Part II (CSAT) exam conducted by UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) last month. He has approached the Central Administrative Tribunal, asking the Commission to reduce the cut-off for Paper II CSAT from 33 per cent to 23 per cent or conduct a re-examination for Paper II (CSAT) as part of the Civil Services Preliminary Examination requested.
The applicants contend that as per the UPSC syllabus, CSAT is meant to assess the general aptitude of the candidates at class 10th level, to test their ability to solve basic questions related to comprehension, logical reasoning etc. However, they allege that the difficulty level of CSAT questions was similar to those asked in CAT (Common Admission Test) and IIT JEE (Indian Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Examination), which was contrary to the syllabus provided.
The applicants claim that the CSAT paper conducted by UPSC was not only out of syllabus but also discriminatory towards candidates from humble background, who cannot afford special coaching, candidates from rural areas and candidates belonging to arts stream. He says that this year at least 10 questions were asked from the subject that is part of the Class XI NCERT Mathematics syllabus, and the questions were taken from previous years' exams of IIT JEE and CAT.
The petition contends that when the qualifying paper is made excessively difficult, it excludes the candidates on the basis of criteria which have no relation to the objective of the examination. It suggested that an expert committee examine the questions which were out of syllabus at class 10th level and recommend further course of action. The plea asserts that UPSC has discretionary power to set the question paper, but it should not be immune from judicial review if it is discriminatory, arbitrary or unconstitutional.
The demands of the candidates are -
Many teachers and candidates of UPSC have also tweeted on social media amidst the questions arising on CSAT paper. Insights IAS founder Vinay Kumar GB tweeted and asked whether the cut off for UPSC CSAT paper should be reduced from 33 per cent to 23 per cent.
