PANJIM: The just-held examinations conducted by the Goa Public Service Commission (GPSC) have shown a remarkable improvement in the performance of candidates who attempted the pre-screening held this month.
The Commission had received around 3,700 applications for 22 positions of Junior Scale Officer in Personnel Department in response to an advertisement earlier this year. The screening exam was earlier scheduled in March but it had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 induced lockdown pan-India.
In view of the pandemic, the Commission thereafter decided to conduct a prescreening test keeping in mind various standard operating procedures (SOPs) in force.
GPSC Chairman Jose Manuel Noronha said that out of the total, 2,723 candidates attempted the examination held on November 21-21 of whom 79 passed whereas 96 qualified for a repeat examination, scheduled on November 28. The Commission had earlier decided and informed all candidates that those who secure up to three marks less than the required cut-off in the respective categories would be eligible to answer a repeat examination.
“Of those who answered the repeat examination which was conducted today (November 28), 12 cleared in the general category and four cleared in the Other Backward Class (OBC) category. All those candidates who cleared the prescreening test will now be subject to the screening computer based recruitment test (CBRT) which will be a 75 minute paper carrying 75 marks and will examine topics such as history, governance, environment, innovation, current affairs, geography, reasoning and English comprehension,” the Chairman said.
The screening CBRT is scheduled to be held on December 13.
The qualified candidates will then have to answer four written papers totaling 250 marks and those who qualify at this written examination will have to appear for an interview before a selection committee at the Commission.
The pre-screening result has come as a relief for the Commission that has been finding it difficult to fill junior scale officer (JSO) positions in the recent past.
As per records, of the 11 positions advertised in 2016, only 9 could be filled by GPSC so far in three different attempts.
Noronha further informed that the Commission also conducted CBRT for the position of Assistant Public Prosecutor for the Directorate of Prosecution in the Home Department where a total of around 450 candidates applied for 23 positions. However, only 353 appeared for the examination held on November 28, wherein 28 candidates cleared the examination of whom 13 are in general category, seven in OBC category, seven in Scheduled Tribes category and one in Scheduled Caste category. No candidate was successful in the PWD category.