Kerala PSC rejects allegations, explains recruitment and examination procedures

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) has rejected the allegations raised against it, with its secretary issuing a detailed statement defending the commission's recruitment and examination procedures.

The statement alleged that repeated, baseless claims over an error in the evaluation of an examination for  Planning Board chief were being used to undermine the PSC's credibility.

Syllabus was revised before examination

The PSC said the syllabus for the Research Officer examination in the Economics and Statistics Department had been revised two months before the examination and published on website. The commission's action was also upheld by the Administrative Tribunal. It said there was nothing unusual about a large number of correct answers being marked under option 'B' in the examination.

Regarding the Planning Board Chief (Social Services) post, the PSC said a complaint over the low interview marks received by a candidate in the 2019 rank list had already been considered and settled by the Administrative Tribunal, High Court and Supreme Court. The commission said the same issue was now being raised again as a fresh allegation.

PSC explains recruitment decisions

Most of those who applied for the post of Fisheries Extension Officer had obtained their qualifications from the Fisheries University (KUFOS) in Kochi. This, it said, explained why a large number of candidates from the university appeared on the rank list.

For the Assistant Information Officer post, some applicants had submitted experience certificates that did not follow the prescribed format. The PSC said all such candidates were given an opportunity to rectify the defect and submit fresh certificates.

For the Police Deputy Superintendent (DySP) selection, the rank list was prepared based on community certificates issued by revenue authorities. Following complaints regarding the community certificates of two candidates recommended for appointment, the PSC said it had sought reports from the revenue authorities.

The commission also rejected claims that teachers from the University of Calicut had set the question paper for the DIET Lecturer examination.

Clarification on qualification and rank lists

For the Assistant Professor (Hotel Management) post under the Collegiate Education Department, the PSC said only one applicant possessed the qualification prescribed in the notification. The rank list was therefore prepared with that candidate alone.

Regarding the Coirfed Personnel Manager examination, the commission said the applicant who requested a copy of the answer sheet was provided with his own answer sheet.

The PSC also said interview marks awarded to candidates included in the first KAS batch rank list were given through the normal procedure. It added that marks obtained in a written examination and an interview cannot be directly compared.

Answer sheets and examination procedures

For the examination for Professional Assistants in universities, the same question paper was used for two batches. The PSC said arrangements were made to ensure that candidates from the two batches could not interact with each other during the examination.

The commission also clarified that answer sheets are normally destroyed within six months of the publication of a rank list if there are no pending cases or objections concerning them.

Rank lists for Coirfed and Milma posts

The PSC said the rank list for the Milma post of Senior Manager (Marketing), for which a common examination was conducted along with the Coirfed Marketing Manager examination, had not yet been published.

Once the Milma rank list is published, the marks from both examinations will be incorporated and the relevant rank lists will be revised, the commission said.

The PSC added that for certain posts with a small number of applicants, rank lists may be prepared based solely on interviews.

It said this was the case with the Village Oil Inspector post at the Khadi Board, for which only one applicant had produced the qualification specified in the notification.