Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) reduced examination fees on Saturday for both general and reserved category students ahead of the upcoming civil services examination.
As per the notification issued by the commission around noon, general category students will now have to pay Rs 100 for an application form vis-à-vis Rs 600. Similarly, the fee for reserved category applicants has been fixed at Rs 50, a reduction of Rs 100 from the existing Rs 150.
Announcing the decision, chief minister Hemant Soren said that by reducing the price of JPSC examination forms he was fulfilling an election promise he had made to youths of the state.
“We are keeping our promises made in the election manifesto. Therefore, we have finally brought down the application fees of JPSC exams in the interest of thousands of youths and students, who hail from poor families. One by one, all other promises made by us during the elections will be fulfilled too,” he said.
On February 8, JPSC announced combined vacancies for civil service examinations of 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 batches. In all, there are 252 vacant posts, including 44 for Jharkhand administrative service, 40 for deputy superintendent of police, 65 for assistant town commissioner and 41 for Jharkhand education services. Out of the total vacancies, 114 are unreserved while others are reserved for scheduled tribes, scheduled caste, backward caste, economically weaker sections and others.
Aspirants will be able to submit forms from February 15 till March. Prelims are slated for May 2 while the schedule for mains is yet to be announced.
Aspirants welcomed the reduction in fees but said the number of vacancies was too few. “The reduction in exam fees is surely in favour of students who are mostly from economically challenged backgrounds. Especially in times of Covid-19 where many lost their earnings and jobs due to the lockdown, the reduction in fees is a welcome move,” said Suraj Kumar, an aspirant.
He, however, noted that there were too few vacancies for which the exams were being held. “After lots of litigation and controversies, JPSC exams are finally happening this year together for the last four year. Hence, one thought that the number of vacancies will increase. On the contrary, 252 posts for which notifications have been issued, are even less than the previous exam,” he said.
