Across Maharashtra, MPSC aspirants protest new exam pattern

In June 2022, major changes were announced in the MPSC-Main exam, including the biggest change of pattern from an objective to descriptive examination. Candidates have been protesting the changes since the announcement.

The Congress has declared support to the students’ protests and the first agitation was held in Pune in December 2022. On Friday, similar agitations were held in different parts of Maharashtra. According to the protestors, considering the number of years a candidate spent preparing for the competitive exam, a sudden change in exam pattern was unjustified.

Mahesh Gharbude from Spardha Pariksha Samanvay Samiti, an association of MPSC aspirants in Pune, said, “With changes in the pattern of exam, the preparation has to change accordingly. When MPSC aspirants have been preparing for 5-6 years for the exam, a year’s notice is not enough.” Gharbude shared how students have been demanding this since the changes were announced and multiple requests were sent to the commission.

Additionally, due to the changes in the MPSC-Main exam, it now resembles the UPSC exam, its central government equivalent. According to candidates, even as it helps them to prepare for both civil service exams at a time now, in the initial years, it gives a clear advantage to those preparing for the UPSC for a while now.

The changes in exam pattern

The MPSC-Main exam will now be more descriptive in nature, having a total of nine papers, instead of six. This will be for a total of 1,750 marks instead of 800. As per the new pattern, marks obtained in two language papers for 300 marks each will no longer be included in the merit score. But a candidate will have to score 25 per cent marks in each of these papers to qualify for the merit score. There will be seven compulsory papers wherein one is for essay writing, four General Studies and two papers on any topic selected by the candidate from the list of 26 optional subjects. All these papers will be descriptive in nature for 250 marks each. Marks obtained here will be considered for the merit score.