CHENNAI: J Jayalalithaa, chief minister Tamil Nadu stated that the changes introduced by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) in civil services exams are “highly discriminatory” and “is calculated to bias the system against civil services aspirants from non-Hindi speaking regions”.
Jayalalithaa, in her letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that the changes stand in violation of Article 16 of the Constitution (Right to Equality in public employment) and requested him to “intervene in the matter and prevail on the UPSC to reconsider these invidious, unfair and discriminatory changes”.
According to her, the four major changes in the exam pattern adversely affected interests of students from Tamil Nadu, especially those from rural backgrounds. The new norm also denied aspirants the chance to write the exams in Tamil, if they did not study in that medium till their graduation.
She further added that the change which says that candidates could take literature as an optional paper if they have studied the literature of that language at their graduation level (as main subject) was beyond logic as such stipulation was not there for other optional subject.
Also, the norm that there should be a minimum of 25 candidates opting for a particular language medium failing which they would have to write the exam in English and Hindi was discriminatory.
The fourth change that suggests removal of the compulsory qualifying paper in an Indian language and inclusion of an English composition and precis writing section in the essay paper instead that would also be marked, again stands in favour of urban, English educated candidates and is non-supportive for rural students belonging to disadvantaged sections.
