What is CSAT? Why is there a demand to make it a qualifying paper for the Punjab Civil Services exam?

The CSAT in Punjab is designed as an aptitude test to assess candidates’ analytical skills, logical reasoning, and comprehension abilities. It is a screening test meant to shortlist candidates for the main examination.

What has the Congress demanded?

Punjab Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa has written to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann saying that the CSAT should be a qualifying paper for the PCS examination rather than one which is counted for final merit.

The Congress has alleged that any delay in announcing this decision will only strengthen the perception that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government is siding with “unethical lobbies” over the aspirations of Punjab’s youth.

Saying that he was writing on behalf of thousands of hardworking aspirants preparing for the PCS exam, Bajwa said the CSAT should be a qualifying paper along the lines of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

“It is disheartening to note that despite strong recommendations from the government-constituted committee and even PPSC itself, this legitimate demand continues to be ignored. During your party’s time in Opposition, it vocally supported this very demand, acknowledging its fairness and the undue hardship caused to students under the current system. Now that you are in a position to act decisively, we urge you to remain consistent in your principles and fulfil the promises made to these aspirants,” wrote Bajwa.

What is the background of the CSAT controversy?

The CSAT was made mandatory in the PCS’s preliminary stage with general studies after the Union Public Service Commission introduced it in the civic services examination in 2011. The UPSC made it a qualifying paper in 2015 on the demand of students, especially those from a humanities background. But Punjab is yet to follow suit.

In 2016, the PPSC wrote to the Punjab government to make CSAT only a qualifying paper for the PCS examination. Making it a qualifying exam would mean that CSAT marks will not be added to the marks scored by candidates in the preliminary stage and they will just have to score a minimum of 33 per cent marks in it.

What are students in Punjab demanding?

Students in Punjab and various organisations like The Campaign for Language Equality and Rights have demanded that the marks in the CSAT paper should not be counted to calculate merit.

Neighbouring states like Himachal Pradesh and Haryana and others like Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Bihar have already made the CSAT a qualifying paper.

Student bodies say that the CSAT being counted for final merit leads to discrimination against the poor and rural students more proficient in Punjabi or Hindi. Students have also alleged that vested interests, particularly the coaching-centre mafia, are lobbying aggressively to sabotage this reform, fearing a decline in their profit if merit prevails.

What have previous governments held?

The demand to make CSAT a qualifying paper was first raised during the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP regime but the government did not decide on it. The Congress government in 2017 also disregarded the recommendations of the PPSC and the demands of the student bodies and the main Opposition party, AAP.

With AAP in power, there are expectations that when the PCS exams are held next, the party will be more conducive to the demand as it had supported the same when in Opposition.

Ironically, the Congress, which did not implement it during its regime from 2017 to 2022, is now demanding that it be implemented.