Prayagraj Ground Report: Why Student Protests Against UPPSC Were About Administrative Missteps, And Aspirants Unwilling To See Reason

Abhishek Shukla moved from Jaunpur to Prayagraj and has spent the last five years preparing for state administrative services exams.

Prayagraj has long been a coaching hub for students preparing for state and central exams, particularly those from eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Among these, the Provincial Civil Services (PCS) and the Review Officer/Assistant Review Officer (RO/ARO), conducted by the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC), are key state-level examinations and were scheduled for December this year.

For Abhishek, who has been preparing for the RO/ARO exam, the wait has been particularly long since he moved to Prayagraj.

The exam was scheduled to be held in February after a four-year gap, but it was later cancelled due to a question paper leak and is now rescheduled for December.

As exams for these recruitments approach, for him and his friends, most hours of the day are spent in coaching classes or digital libraries for self-preparations.

However, instead of completing his final preparations at their coaching, library or room, Abhishek spent four nights last week on the streets of Prayagraj.

Typically, as exam dates draw near, students flood the city’s coaching centres and libraries, which stay open around the clock to support the last-moment preparations.  

But the past week saw a dramatic shift as students instead crowded around the UPPSC examination office in Prayagraj.

Not just Abhishek — thousands of students, including nearly 11 lakh RO/ARO and 6 lakh PCS hopefuls, camped day and night outside the office gates, demanding answers about the recent changes.

The Change In Examination Pattern

UPPSC’s two flagship exams — the PCS and RO/ARO exams — are among the most competitive in the state.

The PCS exam, which includes Preliminary, Main, and Interview stages, selects candidates for critical administrative roles such as Deputy Collector and Deputy Superintendent of Police.

The RO/ARO exam, also multi-staged, focuses on recruiting candidates for essential clerical and administrative support positions.

Historically, these exams were conducted in a single shift on a single day.

This year, according to the official schedule, the PCS Prelims 2024 exam was announced to be held on 7 and 8 December, while the RO Exam 2024 was set for 22 and 23 December.  

On 5 November, the UPPSC announced that exams with over five lakh applicants would be conducted in multiple shifts, and a computerised normalisation formula would assess candidates’ performance across different shifts.

Due to a shortage of examination centres meeting the required standards to accommodate the high volume of candidates, UPPSC has scheduled these exams in multiple sessions, using a normalisation method to standardise results.

Normalisation is a scoring process applied when exams are spread over multiple days to account for potential variations in question difficulty, ensuring a fairer evaluation of candidates.

The official notice explains, "Despite all efforts to secure enough examination centres with the required standards, as recommended by district committees, the availability of suitable centres remains insufficient to match the high number of candidates."

What Led To The Protest

These recent changes were met with strong resistance from students, which led to a massive protest outside the UPPSC office in Prayagraj.

Students staged their frustration over the modifications to the schedule and format, particularly demanding a return to the traditional “one day, one shift” system.

According to them, the single-shift format is not only more manageable but also a fairer way to assess all candidates equally.

They expressed concerns that the multi-day format will lead to discrepancies in difficulty levels, with candidates facing unequal levels of challenge on different days, putting some at a disadvantage.

Meanwhile, the UPPSC stated that the normalisation method has already been adopted by many other government examination bodies across the country.

The officials assured that the decision was carefully reviewed by a committee of experts who recommended normalisation for multi-day exams.

The Commission continued to stress that due to a lack of adequate facilities to conduct the exams on a single day, this approach was necessary. It also clarified that the exams are preliminary and meant only for initial screening, not for determining final merit.

A Day At The Protest

The issue grew so large that every street, shop, bus stand, and public space in Prayagraj was filled with discussions and opinions about it.

Not just students — people of all ages and occupations could be seen and heard discussing and trying to understand the situation that sparked such a massive student protest.

The protests began on 11 November. On its third day, Shubham, a science graduate, preparing for the PCS exam, told Swarajya, "We will continue to be here until our demands are met. Our demands are very normal, not something new."

Many of these students, mostly from middle or low-income backgrounds, have lived in Prayagraj for years, aiming to pass competitive exams and secure government jobs. Many also gathered from other cities, or towns, to show their support.

While interacting with groups at the protest site, the students shared multiple concerns.

First, the decision to conduct the exam over days will result in different question papers for each shift. "If they use normalisation to adjust scores, many qualified candidates could lose out unfairly," Shubham tells Swarajya.

“How will the department transparently determine the difficulty levels across exam shifts, especially when students who score well might end up with lower percentiles due to normalisation?” he adds.

The UPPSC has stated that normalisation will be used to create a fair assessment across multiple shifts, calculating scores with a percentile-based system. Normalisation adjusts scores based on the relative difficulty of each session, theoretically offering all candidates an equal chance at success.

However, students find this process complex and unpredictable and mention that the process could result in lower-scoring candidates passing while higher-scoring candidates fall short due to adjusted percentiles.

Another candidate, Upendra, adds, “Normalisation should not be applied to exams which are qualifying in nature.”

Second, conducting exams in multiple shifts to reduce instances of unfair practices and errors.

"But we believe this opens new ways for corruption, allowing certain people or preferred candidates to benefit unfairly through specific exam dates and question paper selections," said Manish Rai, an engineer preparing for both of these exams.

For these students, there has been a lack of trust in the system, with previous records of paper leaks, cancellations and delays in these examinations.

"With this history of delays and issues, how are we supposed to trust the Commission's decision to alter the exam format?" he adds.

According to them, in a single-shift exam, the risk of a paper leak is significantly lower. "If a leak occurs in one of the three shifts, will the entire exam be cancelled? Or will they continue without accepting the compromised exam?"

Third, “Given the track record, almost every exam has had multiple incorrect questions that either end up being cancelled or require compensation," said another student.  

"How are they planning to handle this across three different sets of question papers? Managing one set is already challenging — what happens if each exam shift has a different number of wrong questions?" she asked, adding that these things first have to be clarified.

Fourth, the introduction of these changes midway through the examination process has further intensified the anger.

“The same exam, when held in February, followed the conventional pattern, so why make such major changes now?" students ask.

“The exam was cancelled due to issues with unfair practices, which is mismanagement by the department.

“The focus should be on preventing these problems from happening in the first place, not changing the process in a way that directly impacts students' performance and results," the group of students added.

For these students, all of these concerns boil down to one solution — returning to the traditional examination pattern, as the recent changes have left many questions and concerns unanswered.

However, the administration claims that these changes are being made to improve the examination process, citing a shortage with the use of only government centres within a 10-kilometre radius. The officials continued to maintain the same position during the protest.

"They have selected only 41 districts for the exams. The state has 75 districts, so why are they claiming control over just these 41?" another protestor asked.

"If the administration wants to deal with issues of fraud and unfair means, they should tackle the nexus involved and improve vacancy notifications, and not change the exam pattern with a month’s notice, which only harms the students."

As the protest continued, on the fourth day, the administration finally took some action, and the board announced that it would conduct the preliminary examination for the PCS in one day. Meanwhile, a committee was formed to handle the RO/ARO preliminary examination.

However, many students remained dissatisfied and continued their protests despite the partial agreement.

The Teachers In Prayagraj

While students and the administration remained firm on their own points, teachers, who have been part of the examination system for years, offered mixed opinions on the issue.

Many teachers running coaching centres believed there was a need to help students better understand the standardisation process.

Some supported the changes, noting that students had raised concerns about private schools and colleges serving as exam centres, as well as the distance between centres.

In response, the agency decided to use only government-controlled centres, thereby reducing the number of potential centres.

The teachers pointed out that other states have already implemented this process in various exams without much opposition, and that the controversy here begins from the lack of clarity about how it will be executed.

Meanwhile, some teachers on the ground expressed concerns about the notification, as it affected all of their students.

A veteran teacher told Swarajya, “The exam notification was already out and had been delayed throughout the year. Students were already agitated. This decision only intensified concerns about unfair practices within the exams and confusion about the results.”

However, both teachers and many students agree that the number of aspirants will only increase in the coming years, necessitating a change in exam patterns.

It would be fair to modify these patterns with clear explanations of the new terms and a more responsive approach to students' needs.

Not Yogi’s Governance, But UPPSC To Be Blamed

“We are seeing the support from political parties on social media, but this issue is not political. We are just asking for fairness in the examination process," said one protestor.

“Each protest opens opportunities for other political parties to make it political, but that is not the direction," another teacher tells Swarajya.

“There’s nothing that will significantly impact the political landscape. Many positive changes have occurred in this administration, restoring trust in the examination system. Students were also satisfied with the management of the recent UP police constable exam. What did previous governments do?

“The protest is against just one issue, and there are no other motivations behind it," he adds.

However, this protest has given several critical issues for the Yogi government to address. There are new steps to be taken, especially focusing on the shortcomings, the policy decisions and the actions of the officials that led to the protests.

“Even with a change in governance, the foundation remains unchanged. How can anything be different? The government needs to focus on those who provide accurate information, not those who mislead.

“Secondly, the protest has continued for so long — why did the administration not take action immediately when this issue first came up? These concerns have also given the opposition a chance to use the situation to make unfair proposals.

"This has damaged the image of the UPPSC department and its officials, and the state should look into it," the teacher added.

The Day After UPPSC's Decision Change

With the new announcement on the examinations, while some students felt relieved, many did not agree to end the protest. Gradually, by nightfall, the number of students at the protest site began to dwindle, leaving behind a crowd filled with mixed emotions.

While some accepted the decision as a necessary step, many continued to argue that it was unfair, believing it was merely an attempt to end the protest without addressing their concerns properly. Others were disappointed and confused, feeling that the decision was unclear and had only caused further exam delays.

However, most recognised this as the likely next step forward, viewing it as the result of their three days of effort.

The next day, only about 10 per cent of the students remained at the gate, significantly reducing the number of protesters. These remaining students continued to resist, demanding a definitive decision on both exams.

"Most of those appearing for the PCS exam have left. The ones who are still here are all RO/ARO aspirants, seeking clarification on the response," a student explained.

Now that the decision is in place, students hope the PCS examination will be conducted within this year. However, they acknowledge that setting up additional centres and proper planning will take time.

"We want the exams to be conducted fairly. Just as we have put in the effort to prepare perfectly, we expect the authorities to ensure a fair examination process, even if it takes a few more months and is held next year."

By the end of the fifth day, Friday, no students were left at the UPPSC gate. They now continue to wait, accepting further delays to their exams, but still seeking a detailed decision on the RO/ARO examination and clear dates for both exams.