Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J.C. Madhuswamy on Monday said the Government will decide on reduction of marks in the personality test for the gazetted officers post based on the objections received from the public.
“The Cabinet decided to reduce the total marks in the interview from 50 to 25 marks to bring in transparency. It is not final. A draft notification has been issued and objections have been invited from public,” he informed the Legislative Council in response to a discussion on the issue. “In case the draft notification is objected to by a large number of people, then the decision will be reviewed.”
He pointed out that in the past when the marks for personality test was reduced from 200 marks to 50 marks, it had been welcomed. “The reduction in marks had helped candidates from rural areas. A further reduction in marks is another experiment by the Government. There has been no litigation in examination for several posts where personality test is not part of the recruitment process. However, most recruitment process where personality test is involved has ended up in litigation,” he added.
Stating that the measure was to bring in transparency in recruitment process conducted by the Karnataka Public Service Commission, Mr. Madhuswamy clarified that the process does not mean merging of posts. “The gazetted probationary officers posts will not be merged.”
Earlier, BJP member S. Rudre Gowda said that the Government needs to consider its decision to bring down the marks in personality test and reduce the clout of middlemen.
