RAS (Mains) will be held as per schedule: Rajasthan CM Gehlot

JAIPUR: Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday ruled out the possibility of deferring the RAS (Mains) examination saying doing so will put financial and mental pressure on the candidates.

Gehlot's statement came amid BJP leaders demanding postponement of the Rajasthan Administrative Service (Mains) examination. The Congress leaders, too, have lent support to the agitating candidates, who have been demanding its deferment, saying they were left in the lurch due to change in syllabus and unavailability of adequate study material. Gehlot said it is the priority of the state government to complete all recruitments in a stipulated time by organising competitive examinations in a time-bound manner.

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The Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) and Rajasthan Staff Selection Board conduct various examinations to fill vacant posts in the state government departments after releasing the recruitment calendar. RAS (Mains) examination is scheduled to be conducted on February 25 and 26, as per the RPSC calendar, an official statement said. Gehlot said majority of the candidates wanted the examination to be held as per the schedule.

"Postponement of examinations is not in the interest of most of the candidates, as it will put financial and mental pressure on them. In such a situation, the demand to postpone the Mains exam by some candidates is not justified," he said. The chief minister said it is necessary to maintain a gap of 90 to 100 days between the preliminary and mains examinations to complete the process of RAS recruitment in three phases - preliminary, mains and interview in one year. Any delay puts an additional pressure on the candidates preparing for the RAS exams. Other competitive examinations, too, may get delayed if RAS (Mains) is deferred, he said.

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Gehlot said the preliminary examination of RAS recruitment 2021 was organised on October 27, 2021, and its result was declared on November 19, 2021. In such a situation, candidates preparing for the Mains got adequate time. Few candidates demanding the postponement of Mains examination stating that they did not get adequate time to prepare due to change in the syllabus of the examination is not logical because the RPSC had already issued a clarification earlier that 'slight changes' had been made in the syllabus. These are contemporary changes made according to the current circumstances, Gehlot said.

RAS Mains

The chief minister said the newly-added topics are related to the existing subjects and most of the syllabus remained the same. Gehlot said the state government had constituted the Kumawat Committee to suggest measures for smooth conduct of competitive examinations. And, according to the recommendations of this committee, the examinations are being conducted as per the recruitment calendar released by the RPSC. He said the incumbent government has so far provided appointments to 1 lakh youth in government departments and around 1 lakh recruitments in various departments are in process because of its resolve to complete the recruitment processes in a time-bound manner.

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Earlier in the day, independent MLA Sanyam Lodha, who is also an advisor to Gehlot, had written to the chief minister urging him to defer the examination by two to three months. "Syllabus has been changed and time for preparation is only three months. Necessary book material is not available in the market. It is a request to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to provide relief to RAS aspirants by postponing the exam," Lodha had stated.

RAS (Mains) exam is scheduled to be held on February 25 and 26 for which aspirants have been protesting in parts of the state. Lodha said the syllabus for the RAS (Mains) examination is vast and more extensive than that of the Union Public Service Commission's civil service examinations. Some new subjects, too, have been added in the syllabus for which more time for preparation is needed, he added.

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Congress MLA from Chaksu Assembly constituency Ved Prakash Solanki,too, has urged Gehlot to get the examination deferred by some time. "I request respected Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to postpone the RAS Mains exam and give ample time to candidates for the preparation. Change in mains syllabus after prelims result has not given proper time to the candidates," Solanki said.

Former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, BJP MP Kirodi Lal Meena and Deputy Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore, too, had written to chief inister CM Gehlot seeking rescheduling of the examination.