New Delhi, June 09 : A group of IAS candidates who appeared for the 2023 Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has filed a petition, expressing their dissatisfaction with the exam’s difficulty level. Comparing it to the CAT and IIT JEE exams, they argue that the CSAT exam was unexpectedly challenging. The candidates have taken their concerns to the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), urging the UPSC to reduce the cut-off for Paper II CSAT from 33% to 23%.
The petition emphasizes the need for either a decrease in the cut-off score or a re-examination of Paper II as part of the Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2023. The CAT’s Principal Bench will be presiding over the case.
According to the applicants, the CSAT exam, as outlined in the UPSC syllabus, is designed to evaluate candidates’ general aptitude and their ability to solve basic comprehension and logical reasoning questions at the Class X level. However, they allege that the difficulty level of the CSAT questions resembled those found in the CAT and IIT JEE exams. The applicants claim that this discrepancy deviates from the provided syllabus and puts candidates from humble backgrounds, who lack access to specialized coaching or come from rural areas or the arts stream, at a disadvantage.
The applicants further assert that approximately ten questions in this year’s CSAT exam were based on topics covered in the Class XI NCERT Mathematics Syllabus, while some questions appeared to be taken from previous years’ IIT JEE or CAT exams. Advocate Saket Jain is representing the applicants in the case titled “Siddharth Mishra & Ors. v. UPSC.” They have requested the formation of an expert committee to review the questions and recommend appropriate action.
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