Disabled Candidates Allege Denial of Extra Time in TSPSC Exam, Seek Justice

Hyderabad: Two persons with disabilities (PwD) alleged that they were not granted their rightful extra time to finish their Group 1 preliminary re-exam that the TS Public Service Commission (TSPSC) held on June 11.

They said that when the initial Group 1 Prelims were held on October 16 last, they were given 20 minutes extra. That exam was cancelled due to the question paper leak.

Amogha Arnava V, an aspirant from Hyderabad, suffered a spinal injury back in 2020 and suffers from mobility issues. He said he was shocked when the invigilator at the Government Degree College, Khairatabad, announced that there was only 30 minutes left for the exam.

“I told the invigilator about my condition and the rules allowing me extra time, they told me that they weren’t aware of it. They showed me the rule book they had received from the TSPSC and the provisions of Clause 8 in Annexure IV that guarantee this right of extra time was missing," Arnava told Deccan Chronicle. Saying that he wasn't 'visibly challenged', the officials decided he didn’t need any extra time, he claimed.  

Rajashekar, a candidate from Miryalaguda, who suffers from 85 per cent orthopedical disability faced a similar trouble at his centre at the St Andrew’s High School in Saidabad. He and PwDs at the centre were seated in a separate room, he said.

"Because I assumed that the rules would be followed, I began by answering the questions on the question paper first and then on the OMR sheet. When I got to know I only had a few minutes left, I couldn't decide between fighting for our rights and finishing my paper, resulting in a disastrous performance. If TSPSC decided to do away with the decision of allowing extra time, they should've communicated the same to us," he lamented.

The candidates brought it to the notice of TSPSC’s but nothing much has happened since. Arnava reached out to TSPSC secretary Anitha Ramachandran, who said she would present the situation before the commission and wait for them to make the decision.

"I'm hoping we'll either be given grace marks or be qualified for the Mains because a re-exam just for us won't make sense," he told this newspaper.

Rajshekar claimed that the same problem had occurred during the TSPSC Divisional Account Officer exam in February. He wrote to the TSPSC about it but there was no result. Instead, he said, he was asked why he hadn't done anything on the day of the exam.

"How can one expect me to travel from my centre, find the TSPSC headquarters in a city which is not mine, before it closes for the day, with my mobility issue," he asked.