Error in PCS-J answer sheets was due to negligence rather than criminal misconduct: UP govt

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], July 2 : The issue of marks alteration in the English answer sheets of the PCS-J Main Exam-2022, conducted by the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC), was due to human error, out of negligence, rather than any criminal misconduct, said an official release on Tuesday.
As per an official release from the Uttar Pradesh government, "The issue of marks alteration in the English answer sheets of the PCS-J Main Exam-2022, conducted by the UPPSC, was due to human error, out of negligence, rather than any criminal misconduct. This human error did not compromise the confidentiality of any candidate."
"However, to eliminate the possibility of any other discrepancy or error and to maintain trust among the candidates, the Commission has decided to re-evaluate the answer sheets of all candidates who appeared for the exam," it said.
It is worth mentioning that the UPPSC maintains a unique transparent system of showing answer sheets to candidates, a practice not even followed by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
Sources from the Commission said that the inquiry committee formed by the Commission found that in the exam, only one page of the mark sheet bundle for the English language paper (which contains the details of the marks of 25 candidates for the concerned subject) had the candidate-wise code mistakenly pasted on another page of the same mark sheet (which also contains the details of the marks of 25 candidates for the subject).
Due to this, the candidate-wise code of the second page got pasted on the first page, causing the marks of the English language answer sheets of the candidates to get swapped, resulting in incorrect English language marks.
The Commission has decided that the re-evaluation of the answer sheets will be completed by July 30, and thereafter, appropriate action will be taken in the interest of the candidates according to the rules.
According to sources, the concerned task was carried out in the highly confidential section under the leadership of the Section Officer, mainly by 3 female personnel who have been doing this work for years and have extensive experience in it.
Notably, the main exam had a total of 6 papers, with 4 papers of 200 marks each and 2 papers of 100 marks each, making the total 1,000 marks.
The question paper in which the error occurred due to human error was of only 100 marks. To prevent such errors in the future, the Commission is evaluating confidential tasks and instituting reforms.
It is notable that the final selection result for PCS-J 2022 was declared within 6 and a half months, with 55 per cent of the successful candidates being women.
Due to the error caused by negligence in the exam, a Section Officer, a Review Officer, and an Assistant Review Officer directly responsible for the mistake have been suspended and departmental action is being taken against them.
Departmental action is also being taken against a retired Assistant Review Officer. Additionally, disciplinary action is being taken against a Deputy Secretary for lax supervision, and preparations are being made for disciplinary action against the then Exam Controller.