It has been seen over the years that hardly half of those aspiring to crack the civil services examination actually turn up for even the preliminary test. Not all the hopefuls who enroll feel prepared enough to take the test and end up skipping the exam at the eleventh hour. Therefore, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has decided to allow the under-prepared candidates to withdraw their application before the examination.
To start with, the facility will be available for the Engineering Services Examination 2019, but will be extended to all recruitment exams conducted by UPSC, including the civil services examination.
Last year, out of the 9.58 lakh applicants, barely 4.57 lakh actually turned up to take the preliminary exam. However, UPSC had already put in effort and resources to arrange for venues, invigilators, printing of papers and shipping of documents for almost 10 lakh applicants.
If the exact number of aspirants, actually serious about appearing for the examination, is known, UPSC can make better arrangements and provide improved facilities for them.
The Commission is also considering the system of online exams instead of the age-old pen and paper approach. This will help to cut down on manual work, save on the time cycle for the exam, and will also require lesser resources for the smooth conduct of the exam.
UPSC will also reveal the scores of the non-recommended candidates on its official website creating a database of talent. Therefore, despite not making it to the merit list, these candidates can be tapped for various jobs from the site.
