Offers apologies; Mistake to be corrected
Dimapur, August 29 (MExN): The Nagaland Public Service Commission today invalidated and cancelled the recently notified results of NCS, NPS, NSS & Allied Services (Prelims) examinations which was published in the local media on August 28. The move of the NPSC follows reports of anomalies in the recently-declared NPCS results as pointed out by many candidates who had appeared for the examinations.
A press release issued by NPSC Secretary Dellirose M Sakhire gave the reason for invalidating and cancelling the results as due to “receipt of complaints from candidates.” “The commission found the complaints genuine needing further rectification on the evaluated result which is being outsourced by the commission,” Sakhire informed. The commission has apologised to all the candidates “for the mistake so occasioned” and requested them to bear with the commission “till the mistake is corrected in all fairness”.
When contacted, secretary Sakhire disclosed that the decision to invalidate and cancel the results was taken at a meeting of the commission today after the NPSC started receiving complaints from candidates. On verifying the complaints, the commission found that the complaints were genuine, and decided to invalidate the results, she informed. While owning moral responsibility for the errors in the answer papers, Sakhire however said that the errors were made by the company which sets and evaluates the examination papers. It is not the fault of the commission but the fault of the company and that it is beyond the control of the commission, she said. While not disclosing the errors, Sakhrie however said that they were committed during evaluation. She suspects that there could have been some problems with the programming of the OMR sheet scanner.
Informing that the commission has contacted the company responsible for the papers, Sakhrie disclosed that the company has assured to look into the matter at the earliest. She refused to divulge the name and base of the company, as it is confidential. However, she said that the commission would take action as deemed fit. But for now the NPSC is concentrating on the process of re-evaluation and rectifying the results. She could not divulge when the rectified results would be declared.
Earlier, it was reported that some candidates who scored lesser marks were declared passed to sit for the main examinations while those who scored higher were declared failed. Incorrect answers marked as correct were detected after the commission declared the preliminary test results.
In another development, it is learned that unsuccessful candidates in the NPSC preliminary results have called a meeting at the NSF conference hall in Kohima on Monday, August 31. It is not known whether the meeting would go ahead as the NPSC has already invalidated the results. Their demands are to “re-declare” and re-evaluate the answer papers. Reliable sources said the unsuccessful candidates were planning to submit a representation to the NPSC. An organiser of the meeting, on condition of anonymity, disclosed that they are contacting the NSF for support.
NSF president Mutsikhoyo Yhobu said the organization will definitely extend support to the “unsuccessful candidates” to ‘protect’ their rights and that the NSF would fight if justice is not delivered. Deriding the NPSC for the recurrent errors, Yhobu said the NPSC blames the “company” which sets the questions and answer papers and also checks it. But he said the NPSC is ‘directly or indirectly’ responsible for the errors and that it cannot blame the ‘company.’
Saying that the highest recruitment body in the state regularly walks into controversies after every examination it conducts, Yhobu reiterated the stand of the NSF for total revamping of the commission. Unless the government revamps the commission, errors would reoccur, he said.
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