Assam Cabinet scraps optional papers from APSC CCE Mains exam

NEW DELHI : Assam Cabinet has decided to remove optional papers from Combined Competitive Examination (CCE) Mains conducted by Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) to eliminate the difficulty level of question papers of different optional subjects. The decision was taken in a cabinet meeting chaired by state chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

According to an official statement, this decision will help in achieving uniformity in the standards of evaluation of descriptive answer scripts in CCE (Mains) examination and ensure equal treatment of all candidates. “Will ensure that candidates are tested on a level playing field during evaluation of answer scripts,” it added.

#AssamCabinet pic.twitter.com/0ngsukh1NS

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) December 7, 2022

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The CCE Mains exam included one written test and an interview. The written exam includes eight papers of conventional essay type or objective type with limited words and two qualifying language papers. Paper 7 and Paper 8 included optional subjects carrying a total of 250 marks each.

There were a total of 26 optional subjects a candidate could choose from including agriculture, anthropology, animal husbandry and veterinary service, botany, chemistry, civil engineering, commerce and accountancy, economics, electrical engineering, geography, history, geology, law, literature, management, mathematics, mechanical engineering, medical science, philosophy, physics, political science and international relations, psychology, public administration, sociology, statistics, and zoology.

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In another decision, the cabinet also approved the recruitment for about 10,000 government posts , Sarma said. It also cleared reservation in top positions in the government for retired officers of the armed forces to improve work culture, he said.

Around 6,000-7,000 appointments in the Education Department, including regular and contractual, have been cleared, and the advertisements for these will be out by December 31, he said. The Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) will also soon advertise for around 700 posts, he added.