The suspended proposal to give the language a decisive place in the
civil services examination will exclude large numbers of aspiring
candidates
After a nationwide outcry, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
has suspended its proposal to make English a predominant component of
the Civil Services Mains examination from this year. The UPSC must scrap
the proposals altogether. This is why:
Page 11 of the notification says: “Candidates will have the option to
answer all the question papers, except Section 2 of the Paper-I (English
comprehension and English precis) in English or Hindi. If the candidate
has had his/her graduation in any of the following language mediums
using the particular language medium for qualifying the graduate level
examination, then he/she may opt for that particular language medium to
answer all the question papers, except Section 2 of the Paper-I (English
comprehension and English precis). [Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri,
Gujarati, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri,
Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil,
Telugu, and Urdu.]”
Retrograde
This indicates that if an aspirant’s mother tongue is, say, Gujarati,
but his language medium while studying for the first degree and writing
his graduate examinations, was not Gujarati, he will not be allowed to
write the exam in Gujarati. Many students study in regional languages
till Class 12. Though they shift to English medium for their college
education, their level of proficiency in English cannot be compared with
those studying in “convents” and cities. When Hindi is allowed as a
language medium for the UPSC mains examination unconditionally, why not
other languages like Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati? This step is a negation to
the “idea of India” that the founding fathers of the Constitution
envisaged.
To elaborate further, in Gujarat, my cadre, 90 per cent of the
candidates clearing the exam qualify with a language as an optional
subject, and write the exam in Gujarati.
This is true for many other States of India. Any move to change this
will be a retrograde step that will disrupt, destroy and dismantle the
dreams of many of my fellow Indians.
My brother officer, Mohammed Ali Shihab of the Nagaland cadre, an orphan
who worked as peon, pump operator and later as a teacher, made it into
the civil services examination with Malayalam as an optional subject and
with Malayalam as the language medium. Under the new rules, this man of
humble origins from Kerala would never have become a civil servant
unless he knew English (in which he was not proficient), because his
college education was not in Malayalam.
Page 13 of the notification mentions that in Paper 1 of the mains
examination: “Essay: Candidates will be required to write an essay on a
specific topic. The choice of subjects will be given. They will be
expected to keep closely to the subject of the essay to arrange their
ideas in orderly fashion, and to write concisely. Credit will be given
for effective and exact expression (200 marks). English Comprehension
& English Precis will be to test the English language Comprehension
and English precis writing skills (at 10th standard level) (100 marks).”
Paper 1 consists of 300 marks, and the marks obtained in this paper will
be taken into consideration while deciding the overall ranking in the
examination. This provision is anti-rural and anti-poor. As 100 marks of
English comprehension and English precis can create many a disparity in
the merit ranking, this is another retrograde step. In the preliminary
examination, the screening process for the Mains, the aspirant is tested
for English language skills. So, it is understood that a candidate
appearing for the Mains has already proved his English language
abilities in the preliminary examination. While the marks in preliminary
examination do not affect the overall ranking of the candidate, the
mains marks will. This will place many a rural and vernacular language
aspirant at a disadvantage.
During the training of IAS officers at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National
Academy of Administration, Mussoorie, 40 per cent of the time spent in
Phase-I of the programme is for the language of the State where the
officer will serve. The excessive focus on English will only hamper the
aspirations of rural India, and is a step that will widen the divide
between India and Bharat.
Page 11 of the notification says that: “However, in the interest of
maintaining the quality and standards of examination, a minimum number
of 25 (twenty-five) candidates should opt for a specific language medium
for answering the question papers in that language medium. In case
there are less than 25 (twenty-five) candidates opting for any approved
language medium (other than English or Hindi), then those candidates
will be required to write their examination either in Hindi or in
English only.”
This provision will seriously limit the aspirations of many in the
country. If there is only one aspirant who wants to write, say in
Santhali, why is his freedom of expression guaranteed by the
Constitution being curtailed?
Optional subject
Page 16 of notification says: “Optional Subject Papers I & II:
Candidates may choose any optional subject from amongst the list of
subjects given in para 2 (Group 1). However, if a candidate has
graduated in any of the literatures of languages indicated in Group-2 ,
with the literature as the main subject, then the candidate can also opt
for that particular literature subject as an optional subject.”
This provision implies that literature cannot be chosen as an optional
if the candidate hasn’t graduated in it. This means a medical science
graduate cannot opt for Telugu or political science graduate cannot opt
for Gujarati. This restrictive provision on the rights of the candidates
to choose his optional paper serves no purpose and suggests a lack of
application of mind and logic.
Page 10 of the notification says: “NOTE: (i) Marks obtained by the
candidates for all papers (Paper I-VII) will be counted for merit
ranking. However, the Commission will have the discretion to fix
qualifying marks in any or all papers of the examination.”
This provision is again ambiguous. In the CAT examination, each section
has a cut-off. This is already notified by the examination conducting
agency. But the UPSC only says it has the discretion to fix qualifying
marks in any or all papers of the examination.
Aside from all this, I may point out that the examination cycle is a one
year process. There are candidates who prepare over years for this
examination. Introduction of a new pattern without giving them
reasonable time to adjust to the changes is in violation of the
principles of natural justice. The proposed changes will only increase
the role of coaching centres. Candidates who have been already coached
will now be further coached to face the new subjects, shelling out vast
amounts for this.
The proposed changes are in violation of the Right to Equality (Article 14) and Right to Expression (Article 19).
(Kankipati Rajesh, IAS, is assistant collector (under training), Junagadh, Gujarat cadre. E-mail: rajeshpondi@gmail.com)
The Hindu
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