PSC Exam Pattern will be changed |M K Sakeer- Old Chairman|

The most recent news regarding Kerala PSC is the retirement of Shri. M K Sakeer and the appointment of new PSC Chairman. Before his retirement, he officially declared his decision on the whole examination pattern change. One among that was about the mode of exam. The commission will be conducting 50 percent of exams in online mode instead of following the old trend. It will be carried out online by arranging exam writing centres in each of the district in Kerala. Another significant information is: the future exams under the commission will be completely descriptive. The chairman said, that he had been trying to implement this rule for the last few years, unfortunately it didn’t happen due to the practical difficulties and a negative response from the side of the teachers. For better valuation and for a speedy assessment, the authorities introduced a new system called OSM or Onscreen Marking. The main exams for Secretariat/PSC/Audit section exams are scheduled to be conducted on December 13. The mode of exam is OMR. About 10,11 salary commissions have put forward the arguments to convert the OMR exams to descriptive especially for the above-mentioned posts. Those who are joining as Assistants’ will be later promoted to higher posts like Joint Secretary, Additional Secretary, Special Secretary etc. Earlier these exams were held in a descriptive mode (till 2013). Currently, the degree level exams are conducted in two stages. But both are Objective type of exams. Anyhow, the candidates have to be always prepared to face the new change in PSC and most probably this will be initiated in higher level of exams like Secretariat Assistant exam.

The next important news is regarding the educational qualification of Primary teachers. Earlier it was Plus Two along with TTC. This will be soon changed to degree. The discussion regarding the same has began in the SCERT teacher education curriculum framework. For LP school teachers, TTC/ D.Ed./D.El.Ed is necessary and for UP School Teachers, High School Teachers and Higher Secondary school Teachers B.Ed. is a mandatory qualification. According to National Education Policy, by 2030, the minimum qualification for the Primary School Teachers will be Integrated B.Ed. qualification (Degree + B.Ed.). Furthermore, we can expect more amendments from the side of the commission which will be applied in the near future.