Student agitation ends as UPPSC agrees to single-day preliminary exam

The students on Nov 15 ended their agitation, a day after the UPPSC agreed to their demand to conduct the Provincial Civil Services Preliminary Examination on a single day.

The agitation was going on since November 11 to demand that exams be held on one single day.

The Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) on Nov 15 announced that the Provincial Civil Services (PCS) Preliminary Exam-2024 will be held on December 22 in two shifts.

Giving this information, UPPSC Secretary Ashok Kumar said earlier the PCS Preliminary Examination was proposed for December 7 and December 8. Now it will be conducted on December 22 in two sessions — in the first session from 9.30 am to 11.30 am and in the second session from 2.30 pm to 4.30 pm.

Despite the announcement, 10-15 people are still sitting on dharna in front of the UPPSC office. The police said they will find out who these people are.

ACP (Civil Lines) Shyamjeet Singh said student leader Pankaj Pandey has formally announced the end of the agitation. But some people are still sitting in front of the Commission.

Pandey said, "The government has accepted one demand and 90 per cent of our work has been done in the second demand. That will happen when the committee report comes.

"We will consider it after the report comes. Today we ended the protest and vacated the protest site," he said.

The protesters' leader said they have told all the students to go home and study. Now no student will stay here, he added.

"The date of PCS pre-examination has been announced and we hope that whatever date is announced for RO (Review Officer) and Assistant RO (ARO) exams, it will also be held like PCS... Now whoever is staying here, he has stayed personally to protest in his own way," Pandey said.

The students began protesting in front of the UPPSC gate after the Commission announced December 7 and 8 for the PCS preliminary exam and December 22 and 23 for the RO and ARO preliminary exams.

They demanded that the exams be held on a single day.

(PTI)