The Kerala Public Service Commission (KPSC) has found itself in another controversy when a job aspirant alleged that five questions of the recently-held Kerala Administrative Service (KAS) examination were directly lifted from a rank file published by a private institution.

KAS-aspirant Hariprasad K Kotarathil has alleged that the questions were lifted from the KAS Rank File, published by Brilliance College.

He tweeted the screen shots of questions and exam guide from his twitter handle @vrikodaran, tagging the Chief Minister's Office (@CMOKerala) and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan (@vijayanpinarayi).

He also pointed that those who set the question paper did not bother to correct an error in the exam guide.

Talking to Onmanorama, Hariprasad said, “PSC lifted question numbers 63, 64, 66, 67 and 69. It has lifted both the questions and options."  

He said question number 67 - which of the following violates the principle of the Utility of Command? - was even wrong.

"The question should have been 'unity of command,'" he said.

The allegations have raised doubts about KPSC's alacrity in preparing questions for highly competitive examinations.

"It is disheartening to see that the KPSC couldn’t maintain transparency and credibility even while stressing on foolproof conduct of the exam,” he said.

As many 3,84,661 appeared for the examination at 1,535 centres across the state.

The PSC banned electronic gadgets like mobile phones and analog watches and wallets and even checked spectacles to prevent malpractices. Stringent action was mooted against unqualified attendees and those who failed to appear for the exam after confirming their presence.

Brilliance College has been conducting intensive coaching classes to government and banking job aspirants across Kerala.

Pramod, state coordinator of Brilliance College, ruled out any mistake on their part. “Our research wing comprising experts prepares rank files. The question paper patterns are based on the previous 10 years’ question papers," he said.

Meanwhile, Congress leader PT Thomas alleged that six questions for the KAS examination were copied from Pakistan civil service examination. He also demanded a probe into the incident.

PSC denies allegations

PSC Chairman M K Sakeer denied allegations by Thomas and Hariprasad.

"The question papers for the PSC examinations were prepared by experts from various parts of the country. The PSC does not have any control over them. The allegations were raised to taint PSC's image," he said at a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.

He said no one has complained to the PSC so far. "If the allegations are serious, we are open to order an inquiry," he added.

(The writer is a freelance journalist based in Kochi.)