According to the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission (MPPSC), Jawaharlal Nehru coined the slogan ‘Quit India.’ However, history books will tell you that it was actually Yusuf Meher Ali.
This is just one of the 15 instances of wrong answers in the answer key provided for the MPPSC 2018 prelims which were conducted on 18 February.
The online test that comprises 100 questions has 15 wrong answers in the key released by the commission on 21 February.
Look at some of the incorrect options that showcases gross negligence of the concerned authorities:
It was Bhagwat Dangi’s third attempt at the MPPSC. He has been preparing for civil services since 2013. Hailing from Madhya Pradesh’s Sehore district, Bhagwat says that such inadequacies have, in fact, become the norm.
Another candidate, Anil Tripathi, who has been preparing for the civil services for the last two years, is angry at the ‘unprofessional’ way in which such a prestigious exam is conducted. Anil, who holds an MBA degree and left a job in Gurugram to try his luck in competitive exams, feels ‘cheated’ on being asked to pay Rs 100 per question for raising objections against the answer key.
As per a notification by the MPPSC, a committee will probe the matter only when they receive sufficient number of objections against a single question in the exam paper. With 15 wrong answers in the key provided by the MPPSC, that comes to Rs 1,500 per candidate.
Mentors at coaching centres who help candidates such as Bhagwat Dangi and Anil Tripathi in their preparation for exams are concerned about the fallout of this incident on the MPPSC Mains scheduled for July.
In a letter sent to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Governor Anandiben Patel and the MPPSC exam controller, students have demanded an explanation for such irregularities.
Documents accessed by The Quint show a pattern in errors creeping into the answer keys year after year only to be ‘deleted’ later. In a notification issued by the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission on 22 March 2017, one question had been deleted in the modified answer key after objections were raised by students regarding the same.
As far as 2018 is concerned, we still don’t know about the future course of action as the exam controller Poonam Chand Yadav didn’t take our calls. We didn’t receive any response to an email as well at the time of filing this story. With nearly 3 lakh candidates appearing for MPPSC 2018, every single mark is crucial for aspirants who are badly hit when certain questions are removed from the paper for no fault of theirs.
(Hey there, lady! What makes you laugh? Do you laugh at sexism, patriarchy, and misogyny? Do 'sanskaari' stereotypes crack you up? This Women's Day, join The Quint's Ab Laugh Naari campaign. Pick up that beer, say cheers, and send us photographs or videos of you laughing out loud at buriladki@thequint.com.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)