Civil aspirants demand postponement of TSPSC Group-II exam, block Nampally in protest

Hyderabad: Hundreds of candidates protested at the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) office in Nampally on Thursday, demanding the postponement of the Group-II recruitment exam. The traffic on Nampally’s major thoroughfare came to a standstill as over 1,000 candidates sat in protest in front of the TSPSC headquarters.

After the TSPSC announced notifications for filling 783 Group-II posts, more than 5,51,943 (more than 5.5 lakhs) applied for the posts.

The protesters held signs and raised slogans, demanding the postponement of exams scheduled for August 29 and 30. Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) president Kodandaram and Congress leader Addanki Dayakar joined the demonstrators on the road.

Dates of exams overlap

The applicants said they would be appearing in other exams too, one of them being the Gurukul Board examinations to be held from August 1 to August 23. Since the syllabus for both exams is different, they said that they would be unable to appear for both tests in the span of a month.

The large demonstration caught the cops off guard. Additional police officers arrived and halted several demonstrators on their way to the TSPSC headquarters. Later, the police permitted the demonstrators to conduct a sit-in at a neighbouring park.

Some student leaders went to the TSPSC headquarters and presented a letter to the TSPSC secretary. According to a source, the commission said they would respond to the student’s request in two days. However, the applicants refused to leave until they had a firm promise on their demand.

Paper leak added pressure

The curriculum for the Group-II third paper (economics) was raised by 70 per cent, according to the applicants, which increased study pressure on the students. The applicants demanded that the tests be postponed for at least three months, claiming that they were unable to study for the exams owing to the recent paper leak that disturbed the TSPSC applicants.

While TJS president Kodandaram asked for more time to prepare for the exams, NSUI state president Balmuri Venkat questioned the government’s hurry to conduct the test. He stated that the administration can wait for another three months after failing to conduct the examinations for seven years.

Meanwhile, a petition was filed in Telangana High Court seeking orders to re-schedule the TSPSC Group II exam. The petition, filed by Duda Mahesh, 149 others, and several Group-II aspirants, asked for more time from the TSPSC to prepare well for the exam.

The plea will come up for hearing before a Single Judge Bench on August 11.