No Pak link in KAS question paper, says PSC chairman Sakeer

Thiruvananthapuram: Dismissing the allegations raised by senior Congress leader P T Thomas that Kerala public service commission (PSC) plagiarized Pakistan’s 2001 civil service exams while setting questions for Kerala administrative service (KAS) preliminary exams held recently, as a substandard allegation, PSC chairman M K Sakeer said it was deliberate attempt to discredit PSC.
“PSC’s procedures while conducting recruitment tests are foolproof, including those for KAS. Such allegations are part of a false campaign against an examination which received accolades from all quarters for its conduct and standard of questions,” Sakeer said on Tuesday. The questions in question were theory-based under subject of public administration, which could figure in similar tests in the world, he pointed out.
In a Facebook post, Thomas alleged that questions 63, 64, 66, 67, 69 and 70 were copied from Pakistan’s 2001 civil service exam, and urged the government to conduct a comprehensive inquiry. “This is serious lapse on the part of the state government and PSC. Action should be initiated against the guilty,” he said. Asserting that KAS preliminary exams maintained a high standard as it was required for an efficient shortlisting from over three lakh candidates, the PSC chairman said the final exams too will maintain a similar standard and will have quality questions.
Sakeer also said that PSC’s directive to block the profile of registered candidates who fail to appear for the exams (which means they will not be able to apply for the recruitment tests to follow) had its desired result of bringing down such tendencies among candidates.
On the PSC’s demand to the government and police to initiate action against coaching centres which misuse the name of the commission, Sakeer said advertising as PSC coaching centre can mislead the public to believe that these centres are either run by PSC or affiliated to it.