TN: AIADMK Alleges Malpractices in Group IV Exams, TNPSC Holds Meeting

Under pressure from the opposition, the Tamil Nadu Public Services Commission (TNPSC) called for a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the complaints of irregularities that have surfaced.

The recently declared TNPSC Combined Civil Services Examination-IV (Group IV) 2022 has triggered doubts about corruption in the commission.

Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami on Monday moved a special calling attention motion during the Zero Hour session in the Tamil Nadu Assembly in connection with alleged malpractices in TNPSC.

“Around 700 candidates passed out from a single coaching centre located in Karaikudi, it raises doubts,” he said. “Similarly, around 2,000 candidates have passed in Group 4 exam from a specific coaching centre at Tenkasi,” Palaniswami added, demanding an explanation from the Tamil Nadu government.

In response, Tamil Nadu finance minister Palanivel Thiagarajan said, “The information available in public and those from the TNPSC are not in sync”.

“The person from Tenkasi who advertised saying 2,000 people from his centre cleared the exam, apparently has many centres in many districts,” he said.

“To fill 1,000 vacancies, around 3,000 candidates are selected for counselling. The 700 candidates from a single centre may be selected for the counselling, but not for the final recruitment of 1,000 people,” he explained.

Upon giving clarifications, Thiagarajan asked the TNPSC to clarify whether there is “any data of inordinate frequency in the selection process.” He has asked for a detailed report from the TNPSC member secretary on the alleged malpractices.

Other opposition parties in the state, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), have also raised doubts about alleged malpractices and demanded an investigation into the examination process. Concerns about a lack of transparency and no guarantee of implementing horizontal reservations were also raised.

COACHING CENTRE DEFENDS ITSELF

The owner of a coaching centre in Karaikudi, from where a large number of candidates have allegedly cleared the Group IV exam, stated the positive results have come from their rigorous training and not from malpractices.

“This is not new to our academy. Since we started the coaching centre in 2007, 60 to 70% of our students crack the exams,” said the Pyramid IAS Academy coaching centre owner Karpagam, in an interview to Puthiyathalaimurai.

“Students take 60 to 70 mock tests in a year, in the same style as TNPSC on the OMR mark sheets. We have OMR readers for corrections. The students get the result analysis, their gaps are identified, they are provided separate mentors, and we have discussion cells,” she said.

She further added that due to less distraction, well-equipped faculty members and counselling for students, they perform well. 

The institute claims that 4,000 students from the academy attended the exam, out of which 742 students were selected. Most of them appeared in the 13 exam centres in Kairaikudi.

‘EXAM NOT UP-TO-DATE’

The state finance minister criticised the TNPSC exam procedure as not being up-to-date in today’s age of technology and stated that it should be amended.

“Holding an exam for 24 lakh people and selecting 7,000 people is a highly inefficient model. Many trees are cut down, 100 crore papers are printed, and many invigilators are assigned, with a total expense of Rs 42 crore,” said Thiagarajan.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other reasons, TNPSC exams were stalled for three years. Even those held prior to that were withheld by the court.