SPIPA FLAME NO LONGER BURNING BRIGHT - QUANTITY RISES, QUALITY DIVES

By Yogesh Avasthi | Oct 17, 2016, (Ahmedabad Mirror : Cover pg story : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.indiatimes.com/ahmedabad/cover-story/Quantity-rises-Quality-dives/articleshow/54885947.cms

Students’ intake at Sardar Patel I n s t i t u t e o f P u b l i c Administration (SPIPA), which trains students aspiring to clear Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), has increased seven-fold in last six years but the success rate (number of students clearing finals and getting selected for cadres like IAS) has fallen from 18% to 4.1%. The faculty members are aware about the falling standards at SPIPA. However, their hands are tied as they rue the fact that students from past years, even after failing in UPSC exam, have been hired as lecturers putting a question mark over the training provided by otherwise stellar faculty. The slump in success rate is also ascribed to expansion of SPIPA to smaller study centres which dilutes the efficacy of core faculty.

VITAL STATS

In 2011, 72 students had taken training at SPIPA and 13 had cleared the finals; in 2014-15, 340 students took training, 154 passed the prelims while only 14 cleared the finals. The percentage of SPIPA students clearing the Mains has come down from 53 per cent in 2014 to 45 per cent in 2015 and just 30 percent in 2016. State government had established SPIPA in 1992 to facilitate local students in taking up UPSC exams as it was felt that not many from Gujarat could make it to the finals or clear it. In the first year, only eight students had enrolled in SPIPA. The figure touched 500 in 2015-16 with the state government spending crores on the institute over the years. In the last six years alone the number of students has grown seven times.

FALLING STANDARDS

Asource said, “SPIPA is a prominent institute. It has good infrastructure including well-stocked library, etc. Some faculty members are excellent, several of them being experienced IAS and IPS officers. However, certain faculty members are students from the previous years who have failed in UPSC exams. When such persons take lectures, not much can be expected from students. Most can’t teach well and vent their frustration on students.” Ahmedabad Mirror had filed an RTI with SPIPA to find out how many students had enrolled from 1992 to 2016, the number of students out of these that cleared the preliminary exam and the mains. As per the information provided, from 1992 to 2016, some 2,251 students enrolled at SPIPA. Out of these 1,176 cleared prelim, 417 passed Mains and 148 successfully joined cadres like the IAS.

WHAT AUTHORITIES SAY?

Director General of SPIPA Anita Karwal could not be reached for comments. Deputy Director General S L Amrani told Mirror, “You can contact Joint Director (Study) Shabana Qureshi on the issue.” Qureshi commented, “Only a few students have the kind of awareness it takes to clear UPSC. In fact, only a handful of students are able to clear UPSC exam on the first attempt. We maintain top quality at our institute and try to do our best. ” On the issue of former students joining as faculty, she said: “As to what some people say about some of our former students joining as faculty and not teaching well, it is absolutely not true. They too teach very well. They are very much respected by students and even those who clear the UPSC exam.”

FALLING SUCCESS RATE

In the year 2010-11, 72 candidates took training while 82 cleared the prelim (10 were counted from the preceding year), 34 cleared the mains while only 13 were successful. The success rate, or the percentage of students finally selected, was a little above 18 per cent. The success rate for the prelim exam was 113.88 per cent (as students from earlier years were also counted). In 2011-12 the batch comprised of 72 students plus four from earlier batches. All the 76 students cleared prelim, 32 cleared mains and 12 were finally selected, bringing the success rate down to 16.67 per cent while prelim exam rate stood at 105.55 per cent. In 2012-13, 100 students enrolled plus three from earlier batch also appeared in prelims.

All of 103 cleared the prelim, 48 cleared mains and 16 were finally selected. The success percentage came down to 16 percent while prelim success percentage decreased to 103 percent. In 2013-14, while there was substantial increase in the number of students enrolled at 214, the success ration also took a massive beating. Out of 214, 115 cleared prelim, 61 cleared mains and 20 were finally selected. Success percentage came down to just 9.34 per cent and prelim success percentage halved to 53.73 percent. A further sharp setback was observed in 2014-15. While the total number of candidates who took training rose to 340, the number of those who cleared was at 154. Those who cleared mains were 50 while only 14 candidates were finally successful. The success ratio stood at just 4.11per cent in 2014- 15 and prelim pass percentage was at 45.29 per cent. The situation seems to have worsened in 2015-16. While the number of students taking training stood at an all-time high of 500, only 151students could clear the prelims (30.2 per cent) which is the lowest in the last six years.

SPIPA EXPANSION SPIPA

has thrown its net wider by opening more study centres. Apart from the main facility, a study centre has been set up at Gujarat College in Ahmedabad and one each in Vadodara and Mehsana.

GRANT/SCHOLARSHIP
Those who are selected for training at SIPIA are given Rs 2,000 every month as scholarship. Thereafter, every male candidate clearing prelims gets Rs 25,000 while female candidate gets Rs 30,000. The amount received per month earlier is deducted from these figures and balance given to students. An additional Rs 25,000 for males and Rs 30,000 for females is granted to those who clear mains. Upon final selection, males are given Rs 51,000 and females Rs 61,000. The total grant for successful males is Rs 1.01 lakh while for females it is 1.21lakh.