Goal IAS

NEW DELHI: Convinced of the need to bring about changes in the method of recruitment, the Union Public Service Commission has recommended to the government that a Civil Services Aptitude test replace the existing Civil Services (Preliminary) examination.

It has proposed two objective-type papers common to all candidates.

“The emphasis will be on testing the aptitude of the candidate for the demanding life in the civil service, as well as on the ethical and moral dimensions of decision-making,” UPSC Chairman D.P. Agrawal said here on Thursday.

The scheme would test the candidate’s decision-making skills and aptitude for civil services, and provide a level-playing field and equity, as all candidates would have to take common papers.
A reduction in the number of attempts at the civil servicesexamination was needed, Prof. Agrawal said.

The Chairman emphasised the need to track the performance of selected officers during the formative years. The UPSC should also be kept posted of the feedback so that the selection process could be modified in the near future.

The UPSC received over one million applications for all 14 regular examinations and other recruitment examinations it conducted every year.

The Commission would switch to examination through computers once it got the government nod, he said."