Aspirants call off stir a day after UPPSC accepted their demands

Students called off their five-day stir on Friday, a day after the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) agreed to their demand that the Provincial Civil Services Preliminary (PSC) examination should be held on a single day.

IMAGE: A Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) aspirant studies on a road during a protest over the decision of the commission to hold RO-ARO and PCS preliminary exams on the same date, in Prayagraj on Thursday. Photograph: ANI Photo

The UPPSC also announced on Thursday that it will form a committee on Review Officer (RO) and Assistant RO (ARO) exams to ensure transparency and fairness.

The students had been agitating since November 11 to demand that the PSC and, RO and ARO preliminary exams be held on one single day.

The UPPSC on Friday announced that the Provincial Civil Services (PCS) Preliminary Exam-2024 will be held on December 22 in two shifts.

Giving this information, UPPSC Secretary Ashok Kumar said earlier the PCS Preliminary Examination was proposed for December 7 and December 8.

Now it will be conducted on December 22 in two sessions -- in the first session from 9.30 am to 11.30 am and in the second session from 2.30 pm to 4.30 pm.

Agreeing to the demands of aspirants after protests, the UPPSC on Thursday postponed the RO and ARO exams, and announced that it will hold the PCS Preliminary Exam-2024 on the old pattern on a single day.

Despite the announcements, 10-15 people are still sitting on dharna in front of the UPPSC office. The police said they will find out who these people are.

ACP (Civil Lines) Shyamjeet Singh said student leader Pankaj Pandey has formally announced the end of the agitation. But some people are still sitting in front of the Commission.

Pandey said, "The government has accepted one demand and 90 per cent of our work has been done in the second demand. That will happen when the committee report comes."

"We will consider it after the report comes. Today we ended the protest and vacated the protest site," he said.

The protesters' leader said they have told all the students to go home and study. Now no student will stay here, he added.

"The date of PCS pre-examination has been announced and we hope that whatever date is announced for RO and ARO exams, it will also be held like PCS... Now whoever is staying here, he has stayed personally to protest in his own way," Pandey said.

The students began protesting in front of the UPPSC gate after the Commission announced December 7 and 8 for the PCS preliminary exam and December 22 and 23 for the RO and ARO preliminary exams.

They demanded that the exams be held on a single day.

Since November 11, a large number of students have been agitating and demanding that the PCS, and RO and ARO preliminary examinations should be held on a single day.

Kumar told PTI, "Looking at the number of candidates in the RO-ARO exam, we have formed a committee which will submit its report as soon as possible. A decision will be taken accordingly."

"These students have been told that the exam has been postponed. They should have at least some patience," he said.

The UPPSC secretary further said the government listened to the aspirants and agreed to their demands by forming a committee.

"They should have patience till the committee's report comes. It is a big thing that despite preparations, we are not conducting the RO-ARO exam (on the scheduled day)," Kumar said.

While the announcement of conducting the PCS preliminary exam on a single day brought happiness to some candidates, those preparing for the RO and ARO exams appeared a bit disappointed.

Meanwhile, after the decision of the UPPSC to conduct the PCS preliminary exam on a single day, the number of students agitating in front of the UPPSC office in Prayagraj decreased considerably on Friday.

A student, Shiv Kumar Maurya, said only hundreds of students have gathered in front of the commission since Friday morning whereas till Thursday, this number was more than 10,000.

Due to the decrease in the number of protesters, a road in front of the UPPSC office has been opened for the movement of people.

Ganesh Dwivedi, a student preparing for PCS examination, said the government has taken a very good decision to conduct the PCS examination on one day, which has made the students preparing for the PCS examination very happy.

Mayank Jain said he hopes the government will soon take a decision on the RO and ARO examinations as well. The students are sitting on a dharna in this hope. If a decision is not taken on this during the agitation, then it will be put on hold, he added.

Deepak Singh said the decision to conduct the PCS examination on one day has been taken at the right time. It will secure the future of the students and they will feel assured in preparing for the examination.

Another student, Devendra Prajapati, said, "We have full faith in the Chief Minister (Yogi Adityanath). He will direct the Commission to take a decision on RO-ARO as well soon, so that the students preparing for this examination can prepare peacefully."