NEW DELHI, Jan. 26.

The Union Public Service Commission is thinking of streamlining the whole scheme of examinations for the Indian Administrative Service and other Central services so as to make it more fool-proof and ensure that only the right type of candidates finally get into the posts.

Even as it is, these examinations have become quite popular and those who appear for the examinations are fully confident that the Service Commission is not amenable to any kind of influence and it is objective and impartial in the declaration of the results. But the Commission itself is facing a number of problems in having to deal with an ever-increasing number of candidates who are taking these examinations. From a little over 11,000 who appeared for the IAS and allied services in 1970, the figure has swelled to nearly 30,000 in 1975.

The increase has become more pronounced in the last three or four years. Though the vacancies and the jobs for which the examinations are held have also risen, the Commission is faced with the problem of having to select the right type of persons from a very large number of young men and women. It has also become a little difficult to get the required number of suitable examiners to value the scripts. Secondly, the problem of moderation and ensuring uniformity in valuation by different examiners has become acute, though the UPSC has been able to tackle the problem in an adequate manner so far. Even so, if more and more candidates choose to appear for these examinations, the problem will become more intricate.

One of the many suggestions that have been considered is that there should be a preliminary screening examination especially for the IAS. Those who qualify in the first test alone will be entitled to take the final examination. The details of this proposal, which is likely to be finally accepted by the Commission, are being worked out. The candidates will be asked to appear for the preliminary test in three or four subjects. A minimum percentage will be prescribed which should be obtained by candidates before they can take the final test. The screening test will thus help in filtering the candidates and in the process quite a few could be eliminated at that stage itself. The final examination will be taken by fewer candidates and this will, to a great extent, solve the problem of finding the required number of examiners.

However, a final decision has to await the report of the committee headed by Mr. D. S. Kothari, which among other things is asked to make recommendations in respect of the scheme of the written part of the examinations. The report is expected in another month and the UPSC is hoping to form its own views in the next six months.

No change this year

Meanwhile, it has been officially stated that the examination to be held later this year will not undergo any change. Even if the formulations on the report of the Kothari Committee take time, the UPSC is anxious to have the screening system with effect from the examination to be conducted in 1977.

It is too early to say whether the “objective” type of questions would be introduced for these examinations, but this again depends on what the Kothari Committee has to say. However, the UPSC is favourably inclined to have this system so far as the screening examination is concerned, though for the final examination, it prefers the present in-depth scheme for various subjects.

Another important question engaging the attention of the UPSC is the one relating to introduction of all languages included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, along with English, as media for the examinations. The UPSC is somewhat disappointed at the response to the option already given to candidates to answer in languages other than English the compulsory papers on essay and general knowledge. According to figures available, the percentage of the candidates who exercised this option in relation to the total number of candidates who appeared for the examination is dwindling.

In 1973, out of over 12,000 candidates who appeared, only 1,019 opted to write the general knowledge paper in regional languages. Of this, Hindi alone has accounted for 746. The percentage has worked out to 8.21, whereas in 1972 the percentage was 10.14. For the essay paper, the percentage of candidates who answered in regional languages in 1973 was a little over 16, while in the previous year the figure was 17.68 per cent.

Students’ preference for English

Even if the Kothari Committee makes a recommendation in favour of allowing the candidates to answer all the papers in regional languages, a demand earlier made in Parliament by some members, the present trend indicates that students would continue to answer the papers in English. Here again, there is the problem of finding examiners to value scripts written in regional languages, which indeed is a formidable one. At one time, the UPSC felt that this would not be a practicable proposition since valuation will also raise the problem of proper moderation. The UPSC is also stated to be of the view that till the universities themselves take an active interest in teaching subjects in the regional languages at the highest level, it would be difficult to achieve this objective of holding examinations for the IAS and Central services in all the papers in various languages other than English.