Disabled GSPC Aspirant turned away for not submitting fee
Paresh Khanesa, who has cerebral palsy, was not allowed to take GPSC exam at Odhav centre as he did not submit postal order for Rs 100. Officials did not know that physically challenged candidates are exempted from paying the fee
Yogesh Avasthi and Dhwani Pathak Dave
Posted On Monday, June 27, 2011 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/2/201106272011062702404397026decd41/Disabled-GSPC-Aspirant-turned-away-for-not-submitting-fee.html)
As many as 2.32 lakh students from across the state appeared for the Gujarat Public Service Commission examination (GPSC) on Sunday. The exam is conducted to select eligible candidates for state government jobs. But gross mismanagement by the GPSC dashed the dreams of several aspirants including physically challenged candidates who had come to the city from far and wide.
As per rule, candidates are required to submit a Rs 100 Indian Postal Order (IPO) to the officials at the designated centres on the day of exam. But those applying in the ‘reserved’ and ‘disabled’ categories are exempted from paying the fee.
However, several candidates like Paresh Khanesa, who suffers from cerebral palsy, were turned away by the officials for not submitting the IPO.
A resident of Amreli, he reached Sahyog Madhyamik Shala in Odhav early morning to take the exam. But he was not allowed in. “I told them that handicapped candidates do not need to pay the IPO, but they just would not listen. I begged and pleaded in front of them and even offered to pay Rs 100 cash, but to no avail. I had worked very hard for the exam since I was looking for a secured job with the state government,” lamented Khanesa.
Now, GPSC and the officials at the Odhav centre are busy playing the blame game.
When contacted, Ghanshyam Jani, principal of Sahyog Madhyamik Shala, said, “Khanesa did not have the IPO, so we did not allow him to take the exam.”
But GPSC member P R Vaghasia said, “We received a phone call from the school on Sunday morning. We told them that if the candidate is handicapped, he can appear for the exams without paying the fee. We don’t know why the centre denied the candidate permission to take the exam. We shall look into the matter.”
When Mirror contacted Jani after speaking to Vaghasia, he said, “We did not receive any written instruction from the GPSC and that is the reason Khanesa was not allowed to take the exam.”
Similarly, a candidate belonging to scheduled caste was not allowed to appear for the exam at a Bapunagar school, sources said.
CENTRE SHOCK
There were goof-ups galore in the hall tickets issued by GPSC, candidates told Mirror. As many as 22 students reached the wrong examination centre because the address in their hall tickets was wrongly printed as ‘Gita Higher Secondary School, Bapunagar’.
The mistake cost them the opportunity to take the exam they had been preparing for throughout the year.
“When I reached the Bapunagar address around 11.30 am, I was shocked to find that the name of the school was Gayatri Vidya Mandir and not Gita Higher Secondary School. The officials there told me that Gita Higher Secondary School was in Ranip. I immediately rushed to the other school. However, I got late by 15 minutes and the officials denied me permission to enter. There were 21 other candidates with me. We protested, but to no avail,” said Deepak Bharwad.
CHEATING CASES
A candidate appearing for the exam in a Bapunagar school reportedly took home his answer sheet. Another candidate, who appeared for the exam at Jeevandeep Vidyalaya in Ramol, said on condition of anonymity, “In block number 4 where I took the exam, I saw a student copying.”
Several candidates at Sagar School in Naroda did not bring the IPO with them, thinking they could pay cash. “We thought that they would eventually accept cash, as has been the practice all these years. But they did not. We had to miss the exams,” said a candidate.
MISLEADING QUESTIONS
Gargi Raval, another candidate, said, “Five questions in the paper were misleading and created confusion. Also, in my centre, officials started collecting the IPO at 12 noon when the exam was supposed to begin. We lost some time due to this.”
Vaghasia said, “The GPSC forms had 19 simple instructions for the candidates. It is their fault if they do not read the forms.”
He added, “Any decision regarding the complaints registered will be taken only after a board meeting. I cannot comment on anything before that.”
Yogesh Avasthi and Dhwani Pathak Dave
Posted On Monday, June 27, 2011 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/2/201106272011062702404397026decd41/Disabled-GSPC-Aspirant-turned-away-for-not-submitting-fee.html)
As many as 2.32 lakh students from across the state appeared for the Gujarat Public Service Commission examination (GPSC) on Sunday. The exam is conducted to select eligible candidates for state government jobs. But gross mismanagement by the GPSC dashed the dreams of several aspirants including physically challenged candidates who had come to the city from far and wide.
As per rule, candidates are required to submit a Rs 100 Indian Postal Order (IPO) to the officials at the designated centres on the day of exam. But those applying in the ‘reserved’ and ‘disabled’ categories are exempted from paying the fee.
However, several candidates like Paresh Khanesa, who suffers from cerebral palsy, were turned away by the officials for not submitting the IPO.
A resident of Amreli, he reached Sahyog Madhyamik Shala in Odhav early morning to take the exam. But he was not allowed in. “I told them that handicapped candidates do not need to pay the IPO, but they just would not listen. I begged and pleaded in front of them and even offered to pay Rs 100 cash, but to no avail. I had worked very hard for the exam since I was looking for a secured job with the state government,” lamented Khanesa.
Now, GPSC and the officials at the Odhav centre are busy playing the blame game.
When contacted, Ghanshyam Jani, principal of Sahyog Madhyamik Shala, said, “Khanesa did not have the IPO, so we did not allow him to take the exam.”
But GPSC member P R Vaghasia said, “We received a phone call from the school on Sunday morning. We told them that if the candidate is handicapped, he can appear for the exams without paying the fee. We don’t know why the centre denied the candidate permission to take the exam. We shall look into the matter.”
When Mirror contacted Jani after speaking to Vaghasia, he said, “We did not receive any written instruction from the GPSC and that is the reason Khanesa was not allowed to take the exam.”
Similarly, a candidate belonging to scheduled caste was not allowed to appear for the exam at a Bapunagar school, sources said.
CENTRE SHOCK
There were goof-ups galore in the hall tickets issued by GPSC, candidates told Mirror. As many as 22 students reached the wrong examination centre because the address in their hall tickets was wrongly printed as ‘Gita Higher Secondary School, Bapunagar’.
The mistake cost them the opportunity to take the exam they had been preparing for throughout the year.
“When I reached the Bapunagar address around 11.30 am, I was shocked to find that the name of the school was Gayatri Vidya Mandir and not Gita Higher Secondary School. The officials there told me that Gita Higher Secondary School was in Ranip. I immediately rushed to the other school. However, I got late by 15 minutes and the officials denied me permission to enter. There were 21 other candidates with me. We protested, but to no avail,” said Deepak Bharwad.
CHEATING CASES
A candidate appearing for the exam in a Bapunagar school reportedly took home his answer sheet. Another candidate, who appeared for the exam at Jeevandeep Vidyalaya in Ramol, said on condition of anonymity, “In block number 4 where I took the exam, I saw a student copying.”
Several candidates at Sagar School in Naroda did not bring the IPO with them, thinking they could pay cash. “We thought that they would eventually accept cash, as has been the practice all these years. But they did not. We had to miss the exams,” said a candidate.
MISLEADING QUESTIONS
Gargi Raval, another candidate, said, “Five questions in the paper were misleading and created confusion. Also, in my centre, officials started collecting the IPO at 12 noon when the exam was supposed to begin. We lost some time due to this.”
Vaghasia said, “The GPSC forms had 19 simple instructions for the candidates. It is their fault if they do not read the forms.”
He added, “Any decision regarding the complaints registered will be taken only after a board meeting. I cannot comment on anything before that.”
