SPSC competitive exams: Aspirants irked by multiple errors in MCQs

Candidates fear they will not make it to second stage due to mistakes in question paper.

HYDERABAD: The recently held screening test of the combined competitive exams, conducted by the Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC), has stirred a controversy for the board.

The candidates who sat for the test fear many of them will fail to make it to the second stage of the exams — the written test — owing to mistakes in the question paper.

As many as 24,442 candidates were issued admit cards for the December 28 test. According to SPSC controller Hadi Bux Kalhoro, only around 18,000 appeared in the test, which was held simultaneously in three centres in Hyderabad, Sukkur and Karachi. A total of 182 posts, including 136 of BPS-17 and 46 of BPS-16, are up for grabs.



Controversy

Several of the 100 MCQs in the screening test had mistakes, the candidates alleged. They claim that a large number of candidates who scored 50 or more marks will be most affected as they would not be able to accrue the minimum 60 marks, required to qualify for the written test.

“There were at least 15 questions with wrong answers,” alleged Asif Ali, who met the SPSC officials on Wednesday to submit complaints and recommendations on behalf of around a 100 candidates.

For example, the answer key of a question asking in which part of the atmosphere the commercial flights usually fly is given as ‘troposphere’. But the correct answer for this question is supposed to be ‘stratosphere’. Another key wrongly puts the spiral galaxy as the largest in the universe. According to Ali, another mistake is the use of the term, Doppler MRI machine, because magnetic resonance imagery is a completely different system from the Doppler technology. Another candidate, who did not want to be identified because he is a government servant, pointed out that Mirikot has been mentioned as the small fort enclosure in Ranikot fort in Jamshoro. Whereas, the correct answer was that both the Mirikot and Shergarh, which was also given as an option, are regarded as small enclosures in the historic fort.

SPSC sources say that the screening test was introduced as an additional test to ensure that the candidates with good knowledge of the written test’s subjects qualify for the exam. The written exam comprises six compulsory subjects totaling 700 marks, including a viva voce with 250 marks, and three optional subjects worth 150 marks each.

In a press statement issued on Tuesday, the SPSC admitted human error, putting it at around one or two per cent. “The candidates are assured that the margin of error will not affect their overall result,” read the statement issued by the controller.

A senior official of the SPSC, who sought anonymity, admitted to The Express Tribune that there were typing mistakes. “The chairperson has directed the members to sort out this issue. Benefit in terms of marks will be given to the candidates.”

The candidates’ delegation met the SPSC chairperson, Dr Agha Rafiq Ahmed, and controller Hadi Bux Kalhoro. They asked them to cancel the screening test, allowing all candidates to take the written tests and reduce the minimum passing marks to 40 instead of 60, or give at least 10 more marks to each candidate.

“They assured us that the candidates will be compensated but didn’t exactly say how,” said Mujtaba Samejo, who met the officials along with Ali. They warned the officials of court proceedings if the SPSC did not address their concerns.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 2^nd, 2015.