New Delhi, Nov 11
The Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) recently announced that the PCS-2024 Preliminary and RO-ARO 2024 Preliminary Exams would be conducted over two days, with normalization to be applied. This decision has sparked widespread protests among students.
Thousands of competitive exam candidates broke through the barricades at the Public Service Commission Square and reached Gate Number 2 of the Commission. Students could be seen gathered in large numbers, filling the area around the commission.
Around 10:30 AM, hundreds of students started assembling in front of the UPPSC office to protest. The crowd grew rapidly, and soon, slogans against the government and police filled the air. By 11:30 AM, students clashed with the police, and tensions escalated around noon, leading to another scuffle.
At 12 PM, students began a march toward the Public Service Commission, while the police attempted to manage the situation. Demonstrating students broke through barricades and marched toward the commission office, eventually gathering outside the UPPSC chairman’s office around 12:30 PM. Holding signs, they chanted slogans, demanding a single-day exam format.
The police resorted to a baton charge as the protest grew more intense, causing students to scatter.
Why are Students Protesting?
The PCS Preliminary Exam is scheduled for December 7 and 8, while the RO-ARO Preliminary Exam is set for December 22 and 23. Students are opposing both the two-day exam format and the normalization policy. Prashant Pandey, media spokesperson for the Competitor Student Struggle Committee, told Dainik Jagran that these changes were introduced arbitrarily.
Initially, the RO/ARO-2023 (Preliminary) Exam was held as a single-day exam on February 11. However, after the exam was canceled due to a paper leak, UPPSC rescheduled it for December 22-23 with a revised format.
The PCS Preliminary Exam was also shifted from a single-day to a two-day format. The students argue that arbitrary rule changes were made after the application process was completed. The RO/ARO exam’s initial single marking system has been replaced by merging Papers 1 and 2, with normalization introduced as a new element.
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