The Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) is planning to go with the Computer-based Test (CBT) for recruiting employees for various government departments in the coming years, notwithstanding the mixed response it received during its pilot project during recruitments in 2012.
The commission has floated tenders seeking bids from firms for conducting objective type CBT for various recruitment examinations. Of the 50 lakh candidates who are assessed in 20 different examinations, the CBT is to be used for “about 2-3 lakh candidates in the first year”, stated the tender document. The test to be conducted in major cities and towns across the State would have multiple shifts per day over a specific duration and is aimed to reduce cycle time and better test delivery to publish the results at the soonest.
The Commission tried CBT for the recruitment of Statistical Compilers for the first time in 2012 and again during the recruitment of Librarian Grade – I. However, the responses were mixed. Speaking to
The Hindu
Former TNPSC Chairman and retired DGP R. Nataraj
said the tests were successful and claimed that the CBT would go a long way in reducing the time taken for every recruitment cycle. “TNSPC exams are age-related and time taken by the Commission would affect the candidates and so CBT would help.” However, another source, who served in the TNPSC during 2012, said that there were some issues such as the configuration of computers to be used for the recruitment varied and there were some delay.
But, Mr. Nataraj is optimistic. He said that these days IT majors were running the recruitment for banks and hence, outsourcing can iron out these issues. “Also tablet-based exam is possible. Where a tablet is given to the examinee and he/she ticks the answer, which is totally paperless,” Mr. Nataraj added.
As per the tender document, the CCTV surveillance system would be installed to monitor the activity of candidates/centres in real time and can be administered from a centralised real-time monitoring unit located in TNPSC. While introducing the CBT in 2012, the TNPSC had stated in the notification that “no computer knowledge is required to take up the CBT and knowledge of mouse operation is sufficient .”
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