The government’s decision not to include for gradation or merit the English comprehension skills component of Paper II in the civil services preliminary examination (Aug. 5) is not the answer to the ongoing agitation against the aptitude test. CSAT Paper II gives undue advantage to students from the engineering and management streams. Their scores in Paper II are almost double their scores in General Studies — CSAT Paper I. Their scores in Paper I may be in the range of 70-90, whereas in Paper II they score in the range of 160-185. Thus, if a candidate scores 170 in CSAT II and scores between 30 and 70 marks in CSAT Paper I, he or she will qualify for the Mains (depending on the reservation category), whereas a candidate who scores 100-120 in Paper I may not qualify, if he or she does not score more than 100 in Paper II. The solution lies in standardising the marks and giving equal weightage to both papers.
P. Sudhakar Naik,
Medak
I did my initial schooling in the Telugu medium. I opted for the English medium only from Class XI. But it made no difference as our teachers taught us only in Telugu. As for English, the teacher would just read the lesson and explain it in Telugu. I am sure this practice is prevalent across India.
Reasoning is also not taught in any school. This is the reason many from a rural background do not opt for the civil services even though they are intelligent. Only those aspiring to get into the foreign service should be asked to take a test in English.
M.R. Yugandhar,
Chittoor
The government has taken the system from the present to the past. Civil servants are the country’s future. The government’s aim should be to upgrade, not downgrade, students preparing for a career in the civil services. English is a must in a globalised world.
Shaukeen Khan,
Alwar
The government has compromised merit in its bid to pacify the political forces of the Hindi heartland. With the examination only a couple of weeks away, the latest move has led to chaos and confusion among lakhs of serious aspirants. The government has set a dangerous precedent. One can expect many more agitations for more changes in the civil services examination and other premier examinations in the country, effectively making a few aspirants and political forces, rather than educationists and professional bodies, the authorities in deciding the structure of recruitment.
M. Vyshakh Nag,
Bangalore
The government’s decision is neither here nor there — it has neither scrapped CSAT nor included it fully. It cannot favour a section of aspirants just because they are not exposed to some subjects. One needs to put in efforts to learn all subjects needed to pass a qualifying examination.
Shaminder Bhullar,
Bangalore
The global nature of English is one reason most educated parents prefer to send their children to an English medium school. Having a civil servant well-versed in Hindi or other regional languages will not do in today’s age and time. Even the Chinese, considered conservative, are now open to learning English because they understand its value.
Shraddha Maheshwari,
Delhi
The lingua franca of the world is English. All international institutions and the apex institutions of the country, including the Supreme Court and the Reserve Bank of India, predominantly use English in their correspondence. Allowing a few students to decide the levels of examination is bound to set a dangerous precedent.
K. Manas Teja,
Hyderabad
