UPPSC Yields To Aspirants' Protests, Agrees To Conduct PCS Prelim Exams In Single Shift, Decision On RO/ARO Exam On Hold

Yielding to the aspirants' protest, the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) has agreed to conduct Provincial Civil Service (PCS) prelim exams in a single shift on a single day.

The same demand was being raised for the Review Officer (RO)-Assistant Review Officer (ARO) exam as well. However, this exam has been put on hold for now and a designated committee will take a decision in this regard.

The decision was taken in a meeting of UPPSC officials on Thursday (14 November), coinciding with the fourth day of protests. The date of the PCS exam will be issued by the commission soon, Prayagraj DM Ravindra Kumar said.

"A committee has been formed by the Commission for RO/ARO (Pre.) Examination-2023. The committee will consider all aspects and submit its detailed report soon," a UPPSC official told protesters.

Earlier, the RO-ARO preliminary exam was scheduled to take place over three shifts on 22 and 23 December, while the PCS preliminary exams were scheduled for two shifts on 7 and 8 December.

The protest intensified earlier today when the protestors broke barricades to reach gate #2 of the UPPSC office in Prayagraj and protest there. This happened after the police forcefully tried to remove a few protesters.

The opposition leaders like Samajwadi Party (SP) national president Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati have been backing the students' demands.

Yesterday, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya assured that the government is taking the demands of the children seriously and that the issue of normalisation will be cleared out.

Last night, Divisional Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, Police Commissioner Tarun Gaba and District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar Mandad also met the protestors but failed to convince them.