Civil services results a let-down for Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: The civil services examination results announced on Tuesday have not brought much cheer  to the state compared to the previous years. None from the state have made it to the top ten and only 24 have qualified for the civil services.   Only one from the state,  O. Anand  from Valenchery in Malappuram, figured in the top 100 with  33rd rank. In 2014,  Renu Raj had secured second rank. There were three other Malayalis  in the top 100.  

The best results  came in 2012  with Malayalis  bagging three out of the five top ranks.  Haritha V. Kumar was ranked first and was followed by Sriram Venkitaraman  and Alby John Varghese who secured the second and fourth ranks respectively. It was after a gap of 22 years that a Keralite  was bagging the first rank.  Earlier,  Raju Narayana Swami had achieved the feat in 1991.

Experts say that the change in the examination pattern, especially in the preliminary  stage,  has hit the students from the state.  Though there were two papers  for prelims  as in the previous years, the general studies paper II which
dealt with aptitude (CSAT) has been made qualifying with minimum marks of  
33 percent.  

The merit of the preliminary examination will be determined purely on the basis of marks obtained in the general studies paper I, provided the candidate has minimum qualifying marks for paper II. Ever since the aptitude paper (CSAT) was introduced in 2011, prelims ranking was based on total  marks obtained for paper I and paper 2; that is 400. Even this year the examinations were conducted for 400 marks.  

M G University Vice-Chancellor Babu Sebastian who has been associated with civil services training for many years told Deccan Chronicle that now there was    emphasis on general awareness, while earlier it was  on optional subjects.

In the case of  earlier rank holders, they had come in the top bracket due to their performance in the regional language.  Former toppers from the state like Haritha V. Kumar, Renu Raj or T.V. Anupama  got the top ranks as they scored 60 percent marks in the regional languages, he said. The problem is also with our curriculum which gives  more emphasis on the subject of specialisation and little importance to general awareness, Mr Sebastian said.

Kerala State Civil Service Academy (KSCSA) director G.S. Girish Kumar said that the students from the state lacked language skills making them perform badly in general studies paper. They, however, perform well  in the interview, Mr Kumar said.