UPPSC LT grade teacher exam 2018 held peacefully, 52% registered candidates appear

Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) conducted the Assistant Teacher (Trained Graduate Grade) Teachers’ Recruitment Exam 2018 in 1,760 centres in 39 districts of the state on Sunday. In terms of posts and applicants, it was the biggest exam conducted by UPPSC till date.

There were a total of 10,768 posts on offer including 5,364 for men’s branch and 5,404 for women’s branch. A total of 7,63,317 candidates had applied to appear in the recruitment exam conducted for 15 subjects. However, only 52% of the registered examinees appeared for the exam, UPPSC secretary Jagdish said.

In Allahabad, the exam was held at 144 centres and in which 65,798 women candidates were registered to appear.

For smooth conduct, the centres were divided into 46 sectors in Allahabad with 12 observers and six zonal magistrates to ensure smooth conduct of the exam. Every centre had one static magistrate also.

Candidates coming out of a centre after appearing in assistant teacher (Trained Graduate Grade) recruitment exam 2018 in Allahabad on Sunday. (HT photo/Anil Kumar Maurya)

“Allahabad saw 54.45% of the candidates appearing for the exam,” the commission secretary said.

He said that the exam passed off peacefully with no reports of any untoward incident during the exam. He said a person was caught at a centre in Kanpur for appearing as proxy for a candidate.

Though a number of reasons are being cited for the large number of dropouts, allotment of centres at far-off cities is believed to have been the main reason for around nearly half of the candidates skipping the exam. The inclement weather also played a part in it.

UPPSC officials claimed that another reason for the high dropout was the strictness shown by the commission.

UPPSC secretary said subjects like arts, computer, science, biology, commerce and home science saw low turnout of candidates. These subjects registered 35–36% presence against 56–57% registered by other subjects. A number of applicants had moved the high court over eligibility criterion set by the commission for candidates appearing in these subjects.

It was for the first time that UPPSC conducted the exam for recruiting teachers for teaching students of Class 6–10 at government intermediate colleges of the state.

Till now, the selections were made on the basis of academic merit and this is the first time that a written exam is being conducted for recruiting these teachers.

Earlier the responsibility of conducting this recruitment was with Joint director (education) and was shifted to additional director (secondary education) during the SP rule. However after the present government took charge it decided to carry out these recruitments through a written exam by UPPSC.

40% must for Gen candidates

The Assistant Teacher (Trained Graduate Grade) Teachers’ Recruitment Exam-2018 saw 150 questions of 1 marks each. This included 30 questions of general studies and 120 questions of the subject for which the candidate had applied for. For this exam, 30% has been fixed as the minimum eligibility criterion for SC/ST candidates while for General candidates, the minimum eligibility criterion is 40%.

Anyone scoring below the minimum eligibility criterion would be considered ineligible and not included in the merit list. There is no interview round in the selection process and the candidates would be chosen based on their standing in the merit list.

Steps taken to check cheating

The recruitment exam was conducted under CCTV camera surveillance at all centres. A handful where the CCTV was not present, the entire exam was video recorded

On getting tip off, UP STF arrested a exam solver gang after the UPPSC secretary had written to state government seeking assistance of STF personnel

Every centre had two male and two female cops and candidates were allowed in only after frisking. Male and female staff were also deployed outside toilets, a common place for cheating

There was a ban on use of mobile phones on not just the candidates but also class invigilators.