Exams on time, no paper leak prays this UPSC aspirant from Jalna

I have been preparing for UPSC and MPSC exams and will sit for my first attempt this year,” said Vaibhav who is in his final year of college.

Not wanting to increase the financial burden on his parents, Manwatkar has not enrolled at any coaching institutes. Telegram channels and open access YouTube channels are his main source of preparation. Vaibhav said he gets his books and other study materials from seniors and friends.

Grateful for even this much support, Vaibhav said, “I am one of the lucky ones who does not need to do a proper part-time job unlike several other students from my area. I earn some money through the Earn and Learn scheme but for the rest, my parents support me. Several friends from drought-affected areas have no choice but to work and it is difficult to focus on studies.” While he is confident about his preparation, discrepancies, delays and corruption in previous MPSC examinations have kept Vaibhav anxious.

He explained, “Sometimes the exam is not held for an entire year. I have seniors in the library who have cleared the paper two years ago but are still waiting for their appointment letters even today.” One instance of this was the Maharashtra Civil Engineering examination conducted in 2020. MPSC announced its results in May 2022 but no appointment letters were issued even until October 2023 to students who even had to resort to hunger strikes.

“We hear of admit cards or papers being leaked, seats being sold in advance for lakhs of rupees… I hope this year the paper and appointments are conducted on time,” he said.