Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, Aug 25: The Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) examination for the recruitment of gazetted probationers, set to take place on August 27, will proceed as planned despite requests for postponement from a group of Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS) aspirants, according to L K Atheeq, additional chief Secretary to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Atheeq issued a statement explaining that the extensive preparation and costs involved in organising the exam—estimated at Rs 4 to 5 crore for printing the papers —make postponement unfeasible. "A lot of preparation goes into conducting an exam for over 2.5 lakh students," Atheeq said. "Postponing it by another two months would mean destroying the printed papers and printing new ones, which poses a risk of paper leaks," he said.

He accused a small group of KAS aspirants of applying undue pressure, including bombarding KPSC, DPAR, and the Chief Minister’s Office with calls and WhatsApp messages. "So much so that at times I am forced to put my phone on Airplane mode," he said. "They are spreading misinformation and trying to give an impression that there is a scam!"

Atheeq argued that yielding to this group, which consists of about 1,500 late applicants who received age relaxation, would unfairly disadvantage the 2.5 lakh other applicants who have already prepared and made travel arrangements.

The exam schedule has already changed several times: initially set for May 5, it was postponed to July 7 due to the Lok Sabha elections and then to July 21 to avoid clashing with a UPSC exam. The state government later provided an additional opportunity for the 2017-18 candidates who had been age-barred, with the final exam date confirmed as August 27.