Group-1 Mains exams begins

Hyderabad: Despite protests from opposition parties and a section of candidates demanding the revocation of Government Order (GO) 29 and the rescheduling of the Group-1 Mains exams, the state government has decided to move forward with the exams as planned. The exams are scheduled to begin on Monday, October 21, raising anticipation as the Supreme Court is expected to hear a petition on the postponement of the exams on the same day.

Uncertainty loomed over the fate of the Group-1 Mains after reports indicated that senior advocate Kapil Sibal will argue the case before the Supreme Court. The exams, which will run from October 21 to October 28, from 2 pm to 5 pm, could be affected by the outcome of the hearing.

In the meantime, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has ordered enhanced security at all exam centres to ensure the smooth conduct of the exams. District collectors and superintendents of police (SPs) from Hyderabad, Rangareddy, and Medchal-Malkajgiri districts have been assigned specific duties related to exam management. The Telangana Public Service Commission (TGPSC) has established 46 exam centres in these districts to accommodate the thousands of candidates set to appear.

In preparation for the exams, Chief Secretary A. Santhi Kumari has reviewed the arrangements with the district collectors and SPs. It was decided that candidates will be allowed entry into the exam centres only until 1.30 pm, with the gates being locked after that. Additionally, CC cameras will be installed at all centres, and Section 144 will be imposed to prevent large gatherings near exam venues.

The government maintains that opposition parties, particularly the BRS and the BJP, are orchestrating protests using their party members to disrupt the exams. They claim that these agitations lack genuine support from the candidates. According to the government, GO 29 will not negatively affect students from reserved quotas. In fact, they argue that GO 29 is an improvement over GO 55, issued by the previous BRS administration in April 2022. GO 29, they claim, will ensure that reserved quota students receive their fair share of jobs.

The opposition and students, however, demand the scrapping of GO 29 and the restoration of GO 55, which governed the selection process for the Mains exam from the Prelims stage.

According to GO 55, candidates were selected in a 1:50 ratio for the Mains. GO 29, introduced by the current Congress-led government, aimed to address a shortfall in qualified candidates for reserved category positions by increasing the number of candidates eligible for the Mains. This change added 3,232 candidates, raising the total number of candidates to 31,382 for the 563 Group-1 posts.

At the heart of the controversy are concerns about the caste composition of the additional candidates, potential impacts on reservation rights, and the overall fairness of the selection process. Some aspirants from reserved categories argue that the majority of the additional candidates come from forward castes (OCs), an accusation the government has denied. They also worry that this change could negatively affect the chances of reserved category candidates for securing jobs.

Opposition parties and student groups have called for the postponement of the exams until these issues are fully addressed. The government, on the other hand, asserts that GO 29 was crucial for filling vacancies in reserved category positions, ensuring that no reserved seats go unclaimed, while also upholding merit-based selection.