APPSC’s credibility eroded again; AE exam to be reconducted

The arrest of five persons in connection with the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission’s (APPSC) assistant engineer (civil) examination paper leakage case has once again eroded the credibility of the APPSC and has led the people of the state to suspect that the commission might have practiced such ‘rigged and staged’ exams previously also.

It is alleged that sheer negligence and casualness of the question paper moderators were reflected in the AE (electrical) exam that had been held on 30 and 31 August, just a day after the AE (civil) exam. The AE (electrical) aspirants have claimed that questions weighing 40 marks were on the front page of both Paper-I and Paper-II, which were exposed to any handler or invigilator.

To ensure fairness and confidentiality, the questions ideally start from Page 2 of any competitive examination question paper.

“Normally, on the front page, information like instructions, pointers of question pattern and time are given. However, in our (AE electrical) question paper, questions weighing 40 marks were put on the first page,” claimed an AE (electrical) aspirant who did not wish to be named.

“Whether it was deliberate or gross casualness on the part of the moderators, the commission is answerable. No competitive exam question papers are set like that – putting 40 marks’ questions on the front page, exposing the vulnerability of leaked paper,” he added.