Even after the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) clarified last week that there would be no normalisation in its upcoming exam on December 13, the issue has continued to simmer. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Sunday (December 8) slammed Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over it, saying the “tired and retired” Bihar government does not take suggestions, but eventually “has to bow down to the courage of the youth”. “Where was the Chief Minister, who has the police administration in his hands, on the issue of BPSC candidates for the past 10 days? Our party had tried to warn the government by protesting against normalisation in the state Assembly on November 28. But this tired and retired government does not listen,” he posted on X. The BPSC on Friday (December 6) evening issued a notification saying its 70th prelims test (PT) would be conducted in one shift and with one set of question papers on December 13. This came after a crowd of protesters gathered in Patna, and were lathi-charged by the police. Last month, Uttar Pradesh had also witnessed protests against normalisation. What is normalisation, and what has been happening around it in Bihar? What is normalisation? If an exam is conducted in multiple shifts, with the same or different sets of question papers, a 'normalisation' formula is used to make sure aspirants of one shift or those answering an easier set of question papers are not unfairly benefitted at the cost of others. The score of all aspirants is made comparable through normalisation, by adding, subtracting, or adjusting marks. Normalisation has been in use in NEET-UG and some other multiple-shift competitive examinations. What was the issue in Bihar? Anxieties were triggered after BPSC chairman Ravi S Parmar recently made a remark that while normalisation had not been introduced in the 70th prelims test, it could be brought in for the 71st. Students, fearing a lack of transparency and scope for corruption in the process, started demanding that the BPSC give in writing that there would be no normalisation for the examination. About 4.25 lakh students will sit for the BPSC prelims on December 13, for about a total of 2,200 total seats. The PT will be followed by a written test and interview for final selection. Jobs are a major issue in Bihar, and with few industries, government jobs are all the more sought-after. Any proposed change in the format, thus, leads to concerns. The question of jobs has also become a big political tool of late, with both the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan making jobs a big part of their poll manifestos. So far, while normalisation has not been adopted in public services examinations in Bihar, it is being practised in Teachers Recruitment Examination (TREs). Two such TREs have been conducted. What did protesters, political parties say? Students, teachers, and political leaders advocated a single-shift, single question paper system for the BPSC prelims. Patna educator Faizal Khan, popularly known as Khan Sir, said: “There can be uniform scoring in a subject like Mathematics, but how can one quantify a question in General Studies, which is a BPSC PT subject? When neither UPSC nor any other state commission adopts normalisation for its public services examination, it must not be adopted by the BPSC either.” Dilip Kumar, a student leader, added: “One shift, one question paper format of examination is the best method, practised for years. It ensures uniformity and there is no need to change it.” Political parties also jumped into the debate. RJD national spokesperson Subodh Kumar Mehta said: "The proposed normalisation policy could create confusion in the minds of stakeholders. This reflects a trust deficit between the students and the BPSC.” Mehta added: “With so much social disparity and only a few government jobs available, Bihar has been sitting on a demographic bomb that can explode anytime. CM Nitish Kumar needs to treat job aspirants with sensibility, and direct BPSC not to attempt misadventures like normalisation.” Bihar Congress spokesperson Gyan Ranjan Gupta said: "Congress strongly condemns the police lathicharge on the candidates during their protest against normalisation. Competitive examinations should be conducted in a one-shift, one question paper format.” BJP spokesperson Manoj Sharma, meanwhile, said: “The matter has been put to rest with the BPSC clarifying there would be no normalisation in the upcoming BPSC PT. There is no need to hammer on the issue now.”
