KOCHI: Earn just five marks out of 52 for the subject in a test of Kerala Public Service Commission and clear the way to become a Physics lecturer in a government college! All you need is to get 29 marks for general topics to aggregate 33.67 which is the cut-off mark that the PSC has fixed for the post.
The test for the post in the Kerala Collegiate Education Department on UGC scale was held on August 8, 2014 and the shortlist containing the register number of eligible candidates was published on October 30 this year. It is in this shortlist that the PSC has specified 33.67 as the cut-off mark.
The PSC arrived at this after cancelling 19 questions, 18 belonging to Physics and one to general topics.
Overall, there were 100 questions in the multiple choices OMR test, each question carrying one mark. Of it 70 questions belonged to physics and the rest 30 to general topics.
Mr K. Suresh Kumar, controller of examinations, when contacted, told DC on Tuesday that the cut-off of 33.67 marks was awarded out of the remaining 81 marks, after ruling out the marks for 19 cancelled questions.
However, when it was pointed out that candidates who secured just five marks in physics subject would make it to the shortlist if they have 29 answers correct in the general topics, which would make the selection process a sham, he said the PSC can’t help it.
“That is the laid down procedure. We can’t cancel the whole exam as conducting another one would entail the expenses of lakhs of rupees,” Mr Suresh Kumar said.
He also said that there is no permanent cut-off marks for PSC. “It is fixed in relation to the number of vacancies reported and considering the cut-off fixed in earlier shortlist. We ensure that a reasonable number of candidates are included in the shortlist in relation to the vacancies,” Mr Suresh Kumar added.
Download the all new Deccan Chronicle app for Android and iOS to stay up-to-date with latest headlines and news stories in politics, entertainment, sports, technology, business and much more from India and around the world.
