The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Negative marking for Civil Services examination

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Sunday, Dec 17, 2006
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Negative marking for Civil Services examination

Staff Reporter

Mixed reaction from students and experts to the new pattern introduced by UPSC

HYDERABAD: In a significant change in the pattern of Civil Services Examination (CSE), Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has incorporated negative marking system for objective type questions in preliminary examination to be held on May 20, 2007.

As per the examination notification issued on Saturday, a candidate will lose 1/3rd of the marks (0.33) assigned to a question in case it is wrong. Same rule will apply if they give more than one answer. However, if the question is left unanswered, there will be no penalty.

Welcoming the move, students feel that this will make the aspirants more "serious" towards the exam. "It's a good move and will cut out space for guessing and flukes. However, it could be disadvantageous for rural candidates who are not well equipped with modern education," says Poonam Chandana, a CSE aspirant.

Kanika Jyotsna, preparing for CSE from Brain Tree, says: "This will make the competition healthier and difficult, which is good."Experts agree too. "By introducing negative marking for wrong answers, candidates who have thorough knowledge of the subject will be rewarded. Candidates with superficial knowledge will be eliminated. This system brings us closer to selecting competent and serious minded candidates," says V. Gopala Krishna, Director of Brain Tree, a coaching centre for CSE.

No educated guess?

"This is for the first time after the introduction of the Preliminary Examination in 1979 that negative marking system has been introduced," says Mr. Krishna.

More information is available on `www.upsc.gov.in'.

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