Should UPSC make some changes to CSE pattern? – UPSC/CSE Exam – Free PDF Download

Is there a need of change in UPSC exam pattern

• Cracking this exam has become as much a matter of luck as hard work.

1. Form filled –           by 10 lakhs
2. Appeared –                  5 lakhs
3. Prelims Cleared by – 10000-12000
4. Mains cleared by –    2000-2500
5. Final Selection –         759

• This ‘winner takes all’ approach is letting down many meritorious aspirants who should be getting a better deal.
• In the 2018 data, consider the case of those 10,000 serious aspirants who qualified the prelims but could not make it to the interview stage.
• Many of these aspirants will undertake 3-4 more attempts without any certainty of selection. It is important to appreciate that even a single, well-prepared attempt demands a minimum investment of a fully dedicated one year from any candidate
• Failure at the mains or interview stage gets the candidate back to square one, having to start again by taking the prelims next year.
• In 2018, only 26 per cent successful candidates cracked the exam in their first or second attempt.
• This means that the majority of the successful candidates spent at least three or more years managing the exam cycle.
•  Several successful candidates invest up to seven years in this conundrum. This period can be better utilised by gaining new skills, professional certifications or industry experience.
• The loss of the prime years of a candidate’s life is only one aspect of the problem.
• – fairly costly affair – coaching classes, materials/technology and study groups, as well as spending substantial sums of money on rented apartments/lodges
• Another aspect of this process, and perhaps the most underrated, is the personal and social costs associated with this preparation.
• As years progress and anxieties increase with every unsuccessful attempt, the pressure associated with the preparation grows almost exponentially. This takes a huge toll on the mental and physical health of many aspirants.
• current system does have its needs and merits
• prelim exams maintain a strong focus on merit, objectivity and transparency
• Priyank Mishra an IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre. Vinayak Kishore a research scholar at IIM Ahmedabad. 

Suggests a new way to conduct UPSC

• propose that a new Civil Services Foundation Exam (CSF) replace the existing prelims stage in the CSE.
• the CSF score will be similar in its utility to the GRE/GMAT scores (expressed preferably in percentile format). This score can be used as a filtering criterion, not only for CSE but also for other exams in the country that have an existing preliminary testing stage. These may include PSU/banks/SSC/university entrances.

The proposed Civil Service Examination

• Any candidate who takes the CSF exam in any given year shall have the option of either retaining her score for subsequent CS (Main) examinations for at least two years or reappearing in any subsequent CSF rounds (conducted bi-annually) to improve her score.
• The UPSC should begin its selection process for civil services directly with the written CS (Main) examination, with a valid CSF score (achieved in past two years) as the basic criterion for application.
• Priyank Mishra says they are not proposing any change in the pattern of conducting the written Main examination and the interview.
• This new, proposed pattern can improve the CSE exam system in several ways. It will greatly reduce the burden on the UPSC to conduct an all-India preliminary examination across hundreds of centres.
•  The resources thus saved can be used to expand the number of candidates selected to write Mains and also increase examination centres for it, thereby allowing more people to sit for the exam and increase the talent pool.
•  Moreover, since a valid score of CSF means any score from the last two years, a student will get multiple attempts to improve her score.
• India is a young nation with the gift of demographic dividend. \
• The culture of “preparing” for government job exams has meant that a large part of this dividend or “youth capital” remains invested in a risky and unproductive venture. The  obsession with the ‘sarkari naukri’ is becoming a sort of addiction with high socio-economic costs, and it’s high time we addressed it.

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