Hyderabad: Osmania University students on Sunday staged a protest against alleged transparency issues that marred the recently held Group 1 examination of the Telangana State Public Service Commission.
The protestors, who gathered near the university's arts college, included several student unions as well as students who were TGPSC aspirants.
Dalit Minority Students Union president Dudapaka Naresh demanded to know why even a week after the examination, officials had not disclosed the number of candidates who had appeared.
He pointed out the "glaring" absence of information -- even about the number of applicants, which he said underlined the lack of clarity in the details provided by the secretary of the TGPSC.
He recalled previous instances when the Group 1 examination had been cancelled due to discrepancies in the number of OMR (optical mark recognition) sheets and the number of candidates, suggesting that history might be repeating itself.
The protestors demanded the immediate disclosure of the number of candidates who applied and those who actually took the exam to ensure transparency.
He criticised the failure to provide centre-wise attendance data despite the implementation of biometric systems and physical attendance records across 897 centres.
"There is no transparency in how the examination is being conducted. The unemployed youth have lost faith in the system," said Sameer SK, one of the protestors.
Concerns were also raised about the potential manipulation of OMR sheets and application numbers, with candidates fearing that these discrepancies could undermine the integrity of the examination. "The lack of accessible information on the official website, coupled with inactive social media accounts and unavailable contact numbers, worsened the anxiety. The absence of a dedicated minister of education to address these grievances only deepened the sense of neglect felt by several of us (aspirants)," said another protestor.
The student called for the publication of caste-wise cut-off marks alongside the exam results, demanding transparency not just in the selection list but also in the marks and ranks of the candidates. They said that failure to meet these demands would prompt a broader movement involving student unions, unemployed youth, and political parties. "If the authorities do not address these issues, we will organise a collective movement with all political parties," Naresh said.
