Kozhikode; Amidst growing concerns over mistakes in Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) examinations, the agency has acknowledged the challenges in identifying errors in question papers before the exams.

PSC officials clarified that guidelines have been provided to those preparing the question papers to minimize mistakes. Those who repeatedly make errors are excluded from the process. This clarification came in response to a news report about the exclusion of 31 questions from the degree-level preliminary examination for various posts.

Questions prepared by different experts are kept in sealed covers well in advance of the examination and are selected through a draw of lots. Even officials only learn the content of a question paper when a candidate opens the cover in the examination hall. Interestingly, the PSC claimed that 90 out of the 100 questions in a 100-mark paper are correct.

Significantly, the PSC admits that 10% of its questions in exams, attended by thousands where one mark can be crucial, are indeed wrong. Applicants argue that the main issue lies in the inability of question makers to prepare error-free questions. What tarnishes the agency’s reputation is the practice of preparing questions without even getting the fundamentals right.

Applicants highlight several recent examples to underscore these issues. In one examination, a question about the number of legislative assembly constituencies lacked the correct answer of 140 as one of the options, leading to its withdrawal. In some instances, even correct questions were mistakenly withdrawn.

The PSC question papers are based on textbooks up to the higher secondary level and are prepared by experts, including higher secondary and college teachers. Candidates are now demanding a qualifying examination to select those responsible for preparing the question papers to ensure quality and accuracy.