The Maharashtra state service preliminary exam has been postponed and will be held within eight days. "The exam date will be announced by the Chief Minister today,"an official statement said. The exam was scheduled to be held on March 14.
The exam conducting body, the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) had notified yesterday about the postponement of the exam due to the rising cases of COVID-19 in the state.
The state relief and rehabilitation department issued a circular in this regard and said it was reviewing the situation in various parts of the state.
The exam was earlier scheduled in April last year, but has been delayed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The MPSC state service exam will be held for selection to Assistant State Tax Commissioner, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Assistant Commissioner/ Project Officer, Deputy Education Officer in Maharashtra Education Department, Deputy Superintendent in Land Record, Deputy Superintendent in State Excise, Naib Tahsildar and other posts.
News of postponement sparked protest by hundreds of MPSC aspirants in Pune who blocked Shastri Road in the city.
Pune has emerged as a big hub of coaching classes for MPSC and UPSC examinations in the last few years.
Mahesh Bade, one of the aspirants, demanded roll-back of the decision. "Is the government waiting for students to commit suicide?" he asked.
Another aspirant said the exam was first scheduled to take place in April 2020, then it was postponed till October, then to March and now it has been again deferred.
"If they wanted to postpone, they should have done it 15 days ago. Now students have gone back to their respective centres across the state and they learn that exam would not take place," he said.
If elections to gram panchayats and other local bodies can take place amid the pandemic, why not MPSC exam, he asked.
"The career issue of the youth who enter the service of the state government by giving competitive examination is just as important for the government as it is for the youth. Postponement of exams will not harm any student due to age limit, the Chief Minister has said," added the official statement.
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