TNPSC makes Aadhaar mandatory for applicants, fingerprints to be verified before exam

The Commission has been marred by multiple allegations of malpractices and irregularities in the Group 4 and Group 2A exams.

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Marred by scam allegations and controversies, the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) has come out with a set of examination reforms, including making Aadhaar card mandatory for the candidates.

In a statement released on Friday, the TNPSC said that it had always strived to prevent the possibilities of wrongdoings in the exams. “Due to the existing measures in TNPSC that aides transparency, candidates were able to point out discrepancies in exams, which are being investigated by concerned authorities. The Commission also resolves to work in a transparent manner with regards to examination processes in future,” read the release in Tamil.

One of the most important reforms that the TNPSC announced on Friday is making it mandatory for the candidates to furnish their Aadhaar number at the time of applying for the Commission’s exams. The TNPSC has also stated that the fingerprints of the candidates will be verified with the biometric data available with Aadhaar and only then will they be allowed to sit for exams in future.

Other reforms include making it possible for candidates to apply and get copies of their answer papers and Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets immediately after the examination process is finished and displaying the details of the posts filled in through counselling process at the end of every day. Both these reforms will be implemented from April 1, as per the TNPSC. The Commission has also stated that all the details of those who clear the exams will be uploaded on the website as part of its efforts to improve transparency.

The TNPSC has also stated that moving forward the candidates will have to select three districts convenient for them to write exams in, from which the Commission will allot one to the candidates in their admit card.

These reforms come at a time when the Commission has been struggling with multiple cases of examination malpractices.

Recently, many candidates who had appeared for TNPSC’s Group 4 exams alleged that around 35 persons in the top 100 rank had written their exams from Rameswaram and Keelakarai centres in Ramanathapuram district. They had also alleged that the candidates had chosen to give exams in Ramanathapuram district even when their residence is outside Ramanathapuram. Following the allegations, the TNPSC initiated probe and found out that around 99 candidates who had appeared for the Group 4 exams in September 2019 had indulged in malpractices and barred them for life. The Commission also found that answer sheets were manipulated in a moving vehicle immediately after the exam with the help of government officials.

While the alleged mastermind of the malpractices involved in Group 4 exams surrendered recently, a series of arrests including those of government officials have been made following allegations in Group 2A exams.