Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) alone cannot be blamed for malpractices during exams, its top official said.
The PSC was cornered after it emerged that Students' Federation of India (SFI) leaders Shivaranjith and Naseem had committed fraud in the civil police officer exams and made it to the rank list.
While Shivaranjith emerged the topper, Naseem was 28th in the rank list.
The Crime Branch is probing how the duo, also accused in a stabbing case at the University College in Thiruvananthapuram, managed to get top ranks.
Defending the PSC, its Chairman M K Sakeer said the onus of preventing malpractices during the exams was on the invigilators.
In an exclusive interview to Onmanorama, Sakeer speaks up on the controversial civil police officer exam row and the role of invigilators.
Has the Crime Branch sought to check the PSC recruitments and exams of the past three years?
The PSC has not received any such communication. Nobody has even said anything regarding it. The state police chief or the IG has not given a written request. Reports about such a move are baseless. The PSC has been asked to record the statement of the official who was overseeing the exam held at the University College, Thiruvananthapuram. An enquiry has to be held on how the question paper was taken, how was it distributed and so on. Only then can evidence be found. Other than that, no one has sought to check the recruitment and exams of three years. Some media houses are spreading hearsay and the PSC has to bear the brunt of it. The trust people have in PSC is being lost. What is the relevance of three years? Who picked this time period? Weren't exams conducted before that too? Shouldn't we be checking if accused Naseem and Shivaranjith had written other exams. Instead of saying some candidates committed fraud, the PSC is being held responsible.
Allegations of fraud are being raised against some other exams too. Is it possible to commit such a large-scale fraud?
The PSC conducts several major and minor exams. Though we try to ensure a fool-proof system of conducting exams, it cannot be said that fraud can be completely prevented. If fraud is committed, at least one evidence would be left behind.
The PSC constantly conducts checks even if there are no complaints. This is to ensure transparency in the exams.
Based on the invigilators' report and conducting enquiries on complaints, candidates had been disqualified. There were reports that fraud was committed during the prestigious Civil Services Exams, conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Will anyone say that all the exams conducted by the UPSC are under a cloud of suspicion?
During the higher secondary exam, it was found that one set of answer sheets had the same handwriting. An investigation revealed that teachers had written the exam.
But was the exam cancelled then? The solution is to find the culprits and punish them, and not cancel the exam.
Will the controversial civil police officer exams be cancelled?
As the Crime Branch probe is on into it, I will not comment now. Let the investigation get completed first.
Will the PSC bring in regulation like the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET)?
A decision can only be taken after considering public opinion. For that, media intervention is also needed.
Will the security at the exam centres be stepped up?
The PSC staff do not have permission to be present at exam halls. The PSC does not have much of a role in conducting the exam either. The PSC staff is responsible for distributing the question paper at the centres and then collecting the answer sheets after the exams. The exam centre is under the control of the school and colleges where the tests are held. The government should ensure that the staff at the institutions are doing their tasks efficiently.
The PSC has held discussions in this regard with the education minister and general education director. The PSC wants to stop the invigilators from moving out of the exam halls. We will also send a letter to the chief secretary on this.
Both teaching and non-teaching staff can become invigilators for PSC exams. Allegations are rife that the invigilators do not keep a strict vigil. Some of the invigilators either talk to their colleagues or use the phone. The PSC deduces that such instances give opportune moments for candidates to commit fraud.
The Crime Branch had said that either the invigilators or staff at the Senate played a role in leaking the question paper. Only some invigilators conduct exams seriously. As the PSC does not have enough staff, it is not able to recruit employees at all the centres.
