In a major change, UPSC declared to release a provisional prelims answer key right after the exam. As of now, aspirants wait a whole year for the keys, and several protests have taken place over the years to make this amendment.
The decision brings relief to aspirants appearing for the exam. On 20th September, UPSC filed an affidavit with the Supreme Court wherein it agreed to release the provisional keys after the prelims examination. Several candidates have moved to the top court asking for a prior release of the keys, which until now was published after the end of the exam cycle, leading to no fair chance to challenge the prelims result, and undue exclusion in the mains.
Advocate Rajeev Dubey filed the petition, while Jaidee Gupta was appointed amicus curiae to assist him. The Supreme Court bench headed by Justice P.S. Narasimha will hear the case on October 14.
As per the affidavit, a candidate can raise questions on any answer they think is wrong. But every option that is challenged has to be backed by three sources, which must be reliable, such as research papers and standard textbooks. It states that if a person fails to prove their objection as per standard sources, it will not be considered valid.
The objections will be studied and analysed by an expert panel, based on which a final key will be prepared, which will decide the result. Various stakeholders, including students, teachers, and even former civil servants, have welcomed the change. As Ketan, a former aspirant and teacher, said that a lot of candidates get eliminated in prelims, and the late declaration of keys makes them unclear of what went wrong. But this change will give clarity to the upcoming aspirants.
However, not everyone is completely satisfied with the action. Many believe that, though this is a good step, aspirants state that if the objections and views are not backed by the majority, it might give an upper hand to UPSC, defeating the purpose of the reform.
