On June 12, the prestigious UPSC Civil Services Prelims results were announced. A total of 14,624 candidates have been recommended by the commission for the next stage which is the Mains examination. It is this Mains examination that majorly determines the name in the rank list.
However, in order to reach that stage, one has to clear the preliminary examination. The preliminary exam consists of two papers i.e.-the General Studies Paper and the CSAT (basically consisting of mental aptitude and English) The 2023 preliminary exam came as a bit of a shock to the students with a complete change in the pattern. The change was more in the pattern of options than the questions asked. Furthermore, the CSAT paper moved a step beyond the basic class 10th mathematics (as prescribed in the syllabus of UPSC) and consisted of complex english comprehensions.
In this regards the students have challenged the qualifying paper that is the civil services aptitude exam (CSAT), alleging that the difficulty level of questions was similar to those asked in CAT and IIT-JEE examination, and have asked Central Administrative Tribunal to direct UPSC to reduce cut off for CSAT from 33% to 23%. The applicants also claim that the exam’s difficulty discriminates against candidates from humble backgrounds who cannot afford special coaching or those who belong to rural areas or the arts stream.
So, was the pattern really discriminatory, or was it a big blow to the coaching industry worth Rs. 3000 crore? The UPSC coaching industry which goes on an advertising spree as soon as results are announced to influence prospective candidates has come under the scanner. This industry, employing thousands of skilled professionals, and selling test series worth thousands of rupees claiming to predict the exam pattern, has year after year failed to do the same, with UPSC consistently experimenting with the paper. This changing pattern itself prioritizes self-belief over the belief in these coaching factories.
The need is to understand the basic nature and the purpose of the exam which apparently aims at filtering. With the competition becoming stiffer and more intense, the aspirants need to prepare themselves for such shock rather than falling prey to huge advertisements glorifying toppers and claiming cent per cent selection. The present scenario has become a classic example of how the fear of the aspirants is capitalized, thereby shifting them away from their power of self-belief for mere financial gains.
Craze of Government Exams
As per a report, about 65% students appearing in government exams belong to the rural area especially those in need of not only professional and financial stability but also social mobility. Also, the over-glorification of government jobs at the societal level has resulted in making both students and parents part of the vicious loop. The long duration of the exam process and a long list of graduates having skillsets not aligned with today’s job market are pushed to become part of this loop. The loop at times becomes so dangerous that the aspirants spend their entire 20s in the preparatory mode itself.
This situation is worsened to the extent that even the Ph.D. students were among the applicants for the post of peon, gardener, and cook in government offices. The problem is not just limited to one particular state but extends to the entire country where often a highly qualified individual aspiring for a white-collar job ends up getting a blue collared job.
But the problem is not just at the level of society but also at the level of institutions. The out-of-date curriculum and lack of evolution of subjects according to current market trends have rather increased the gap between industry and academia, thereby making students unsuitable for the market. In order to better understand let’s take an example of one of the highly demanded engineering branches that is Computer Science engineering-as per a survey there are very few institutes in India today that have topics like Artificial Intelligence, Neural Networks, and ChatGPT as a part of their curriculum.
With the economic structure becoming contractual in nature, the individual tends to spend more time looking for government jobs in the scope of finding job security. This comfort and stability in a government job persuades the individual to stay in the job despite being overqualified for it. It also prevents the individual to upgrade the skills in accordance with the market requirements.
As the role of government minimizes and governance increases, the demand and the quality of candidates required also change and so does the pattern of UPSC. There is a need to understand that in the present scenario, the country needs civil servants who are responsible, efficient, and adaptable that is the one who has the capability of being easily modified to suit the changing domestic and global scenarios. Thus, instead of branding the exam discriminatory, the required approach is to evolve not only as an aspirant but also as an individual.
With India surpassing China to become not only the most populous but also the youngest country in the world, the hope lies in both the state and the civil society taking steps to secure both the tangible and intangible assets in the way of improving infrastructure, securing the health and social capital, prioritizing continuous skilling, encouraging the diversification of private sector and thereby safeguarding the demographic dividend.