Cancelled LGS Exam: PSC to discuss re-test tomorrow

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) is expected to discuss conducting the cancelled second phase of the Company/Corporation Last Grade Servants (LGS) examination in early September at its meeting tomorrow.

The examination was cancelled after question papers were mistakenly exchanged at Lajanathul Muhammadiya Higher Secondary School in Alappuzha. Before fixing a fresh date, the commission will review the availability of around 200 schools after taking into account the schedule of other public examinations, including those conducted by the PSC.
The commission has clarified that the third and fourth phases of the LGS examination, scheduled for the morning and afternoon of August 1, will go ahead as planned.

Tomorrow's meeting is also expected to discuss what action should be taken against the Additional Chief Superintendent who was in charge at the examination centre where the mix-up occurred.

The error affected around 1.69 lakh candidates and is estimated to have caused a loss of about ₹3.4 crore to the commission. The PSC is also examining whether the incident could have been an act of sabotage.

PSC Chairman M.R. Baiju is expected to brief the commission on the documents handed over to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) as part of the probe into the examination irregularities. An interim report from the commission's internal vigilance wing may also be placed before the meeting.
The SIT is scheduled to visit the PSC headquarters tomorrow to examine the answer sheets connected with the case. It has also sought details of the officials who supervised the evaluation process.

Meanwhile, the Congress-backed Employees Association has argued that PSC staff serving as Additional Chief Superintendents face excessive pressure when two common preliminary examinations are held on the same day. The association has urged the commission to do away with the arrangement to avoid similar incidents in future.