Thiruvananthapruam: As part of cost-cutting measures, the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) is considering imposing fine on candidates who fail to turn up for exams after obtaining hall ticket.
The commission also has plans to debar applicants who have made it a habit to skip exams after downloading the hall-ticket from the official website, PSC chairman M K Sakeer has said.
“It costs over Rs 500 per candidate for conducting a single exam. The PSC does not charge any registration or application fees. Though exams conducted by the PSC attract lakhs of job-seekers, less than half of the total applicants turn up at the exam centers. Such is the present scenario.
"We are looking at introducing a system wherein candidates will have to download hall tickets at least 30 days prior to the exam date. That regulation will be effective only if fines are imposed on those who fail to write the exam even after downloading the hall ticket. We are also considering another option; that is collecting a certain fee as caution deposit during the submission of application and refunding of the same only to those who appear for the exam,” he said.
The upcoming Kerala Administrative Service (KAS) examination will see the implementation of the proposal to hold exams in two phases as part of the PSC's reforms process. Under the new system, only those who clear the objective test will be eligible to appear for the descriptive test. The rank-list will be published based on the outcome of the interview. The detailed syllabus and specimen for the KAS exam will be ready in two months’ time.
The PSC’s plan is to conduct a common exam to posts that require similar qualifications. The secretariat assistant examination will have only a common test. Malayalam questions will be included in exams to be notified from the new year starting Chingam 1, as per the Malayalam calendar, onward, the chairman added.
Read more: Latest Kerala news | Assembly ruckus: Oppn asks Kerala govt not to withdraw case against LDF MLAs
