MPSC & re-conduct of MCSCC Exam, 2016 ?
MCSCCE interested aspirants in quest of an inclusive solution

Interested aspirants *

"What do you want to become when you grow up?" - This is the common question we had all come across at some point of time during our early days. Knowingly or unknowingly, we all had, once or twice or many a time, expressed our ambitious professions to someone or the other in our schooldays.

Back then, many of us had given bold statements on our desires of becoming bureaucrats and out of this 'many', many are still fervently preserving dreams of becoming what we have been dreaming for. This strong aspiration of ours has ledus to concentrate solely on Civil Services Exams' preparation leaving behind the options for further studies and other career opportunities.

The recent judgement of the Honourable High Court of Manipur coupled with the firm stance of the Honourable Supreme Court of India upholding the verdict of the earlier regarding the quashing of the MCSCC Exam, 2016 and ordering re-conduct of the same afresh is a big success for all the justice seekers.

Cherishing this grand success will absolutely be incomplete without extending our heartfelt gratitude to the brave and kind-hearted aspirants who have been the talk of the town with the title "Group of Aspirants (GoA) "and had fought really hard against the misconduct of the MCSCC Exam, 2016.

Now, the crux lies in the re-conduct of the MCSCC Exam, 2016. Is it going to be re-conducted afresh from the Mains only, thereby, conducting a competition among few aspirants? Or is it going to be re-conducted afresh from the Preliminary Exam, thereby, allowing a good competition among those who had already registered?

Or is it going to be re-conducted afresh from the Preliminary Exam through fresh registration process, thereby, allowing a tough and tight competition among thousands of aspirants who have been contemplating an attempt for the same for quite long?

By an order issued by the Manipur High Court, conduct of the MCSCC (Prelim) Exam, 2019 is kept in a complete halt on the ground of non-existence of proper rules and regulations and the Controller of Examination for the conduct of exams.

In connection to this, it is also to be noted that the MCSCC (Prelim) Exam, 2016 was conducted with the same set of vague rules and regulations because of which conduct of the MCSCC (Prelim) Exam, 2019 had been postponed till further notice, just a day before the exam. It is worth praising the endeavour of the petitioners who had intervened for the larger interest of all the aspirants.

Many genuinely interested aspirants have been longing since then to grab an opportunity to write this exam but in vain due to the present ambiguity regarding the re-conduct of the MCSCC (Mains) Exam, 2016. As such, a common anxiety regarding the likelihood of delay in the conduct of exam by 2 to 3 years due to all the pending judicial proceedings surrounding the issue has already started haunting the minds of many aspirants in the state.

It is also learnt that the post of the Controller of Examination is now filled which makes the viability of conducting the MCSCC exam one step closer. Now, it is upto the MPSC to adhere to the rules and regulations proposed by the Group of Aspirants (GoA) based on the UPSC which had been disclosed to the public in the course of their fight against the misconduct of MCSCC Exam 2016.

With the implementation of the proposed rules and regulations, transparency in the selection process is expected to be of the highest level. As interested aspirants, we strongly do believe MPSC, out of their conscience and intuition, will amend some of the existing rules and regulations to suit the best common interests of all the aspirants so as to facilitate flawless conduct of examinations in the future.

Considering the re-conduct of MCSCC Exam, 2016 afresh from Preliminary Stage with the already registered candidates, justice will be served to all the registered candidates. But, what about the fate of the MCSCC Exam, 2019's registered aspirants who didn't get themselves registered for MCSCC Exam, 2016?

Are they going to wait for another petition to get filed, court proceedings to get done, and re-conduct of MCSCC Exam, 2016 to get completed? How many more precious years are they going to sacrifice? Non-holding of exams in the two successive years (2017 and 2018) plus ban on the conduct of MCSCC (Prelim) Exam 2019 has given rise to feelings of victimisation amongst many aspirants.

At this juncture, uncertainty about the conduct of exam in the near future is a big concern for many aspirants – who are likely to be over-aged, who have been socially isolated preparing for this exam, who have put a complete halt to their life's progress, who are not financially sound, and so on. This has, indeed, de-motivated as well as defeated the aspirations of many such aspirants and has further intensified their victimised feelings.

In the larger interest of all the aspirants, it can be suggested that the MCSCC Exam, 2016 be re-conducted afresh from Preliminary exam through fresh registration, thereby, availing opportunities to all the aspirants. Furthermore, the problem may arise in the matter of exam syllabus. For re-conduct of the preliminary exam, the previous model of examination which excludes CSAT may be adopted.

To result in a win-win situation for all the aspirants in the re-conduct of the MCSCC Exam 2016, the Mains examination may consist of GS Paper 1 and GS Paper 2 based on old MPSC pattern, 2 papers on only one optional subject based on UPSC pattern and a qualifying paper on English which is common to both the UPSC and the old MPSC exam pattern. This is just a mere suggestion the feasibility of which is subject to a proper analysis by the commission.

It has recently been publicised about the MPSC's willingness to initiate some of the reforms to facilitate speedy and transparent conduct of exam, which is worth appreciating by all the aspirants. This reflects their desire of flawless conduct of exam in the future and at the same time, has reassured all the aspirants of their continuous efforts for holding the pending examinations at the earliest possible. Now, the ball is in the court of aspirants and we should adopt consensus-oriented steps so as to avoid possible hindrances in the conduct of exams in the near future.

Thus, some of the grievances and concerns of the interested aspirants have been expressed which need to be further looked upon by the Commission concerned so as to ensure transparent conduct of recruitment examinations, thereby, selecting befitting candidates who can serve as potential human resources to impart peace and prosperity to our State.

Last but not least, in the larger interest of all the aspirants, conduct of free and fair competitive exams is the need of the hour which we, as the future pillars of the State, are expecting from the Manipur Public Service Commission (MPSC) in order to serve justice to all the aspirants by bringing out an inclusive solution.