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TNPSC exam reforms: Fingerprints on answer sheets, NOTA option in questions introduced

This is the second wave of reforms after the Commission was rocked by exam malpractices.

The Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC), which has been riddled with scams, has introduced more reforms in its exams. The decision to tighten the overall conduct of the exams came at a high-level meeting held in Chennai a few days ago.

As per reports, the newly introduced reforms include fitting of GPS systems in the vans that transport exam papers and making the candidates affix their fingerprints on answer sheets instead of their signatures. Speaking to DT Next, K Nandakumar, the TNPSC Secretary said that moving forward, the candidates would have to be present in the exam hall an hour before the exam begins. Adding that the examination timings will change, he said the candidates will also be provided a grace time of 15 minutes to fill out their details in the answer sheet.

The TNPSC also said that the examination process will consist of two exams — Preliminary and Main examination. The candidates must also answer all the questions in the exam and not leave any question unanswered. If they feel like the given options are not correct for the questions, they can opt to pick ‘NOTA’ option and shade the respective circle in the Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets.

The secretary also stated that the vans that transport the answer papers will have GPS systems and CCTV cameras in them. The Commission will also soon launch a new website where the candidates can interact with the officials and give their feedback  regarding the exams.

This is the second wave of reforms the TNPSC has brought in after a series of scams rocked the Commission recently. The TNPSC discovered that around 99 candidates who appeared for the Group 4 exams in September 2019 had indulged in malpractices, of which 59 candidates had paid agents to alter their answer papers. A total of 35 out of the 59 candidates had also grabbed the top 100 ranks in the rank list.

The Commission had announced a probe after candidates alleged that many names in the top 100 ranks belonged to candidates who wrote their exams in Rameswaram and Keelakkarai centres in Ramanathapuram district. The probe also found that the answer papers were altered in a moving vehicle on the night of the exam, when the paper bundles were being transported from Sivagangai to Chennai. Following the probe, the TNPSC barred the 99 candidates for life. 

Source: The News Minute