Plea to Make Moderation of Marks Public Turned Down by UPSC

Both Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and Government of India have denied making the moderation of marks of civil services aspirants’ public, which was recommended by a parliamentary panel. The UPSC conducts civil services examinations every year for selecting candidates into Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS). The selection is made through three stages namely, preliminary, mains and interview.

The standing committee on personnel, public grievances, law and justice in their report tabled in Parliament had recommended making the moderation of marks public through any public domain, so that the transparency of the examination and selection of the candidates could remain sacrosanct. In reply, the UPSC said that the marking system which includes the moderation is an integral part of evaluation process of the commission and is a matter of confidentiality.

In a letter giving reply to the recommendation of the committee, it said, “This modality of moderation has evolved over a period of time and is based on a rational criterion which has stood the test of time. The commission makes merit-based recruitment and maintains the highest standards of integrity and fair play in the examinations and selection processes. The commission, therefore, does not support the proposal for placing such confidential information pertaining to its internal evaluation processes in the public domain, which could have a high litigation potential that may impinge on the confidentiality and integrity of the examination process.” The nodal authority of UPSC representing the government, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has agreed with the response of the commission and thus has rejected the recommendation.