Candidates were wearing masks and were carrying their sanitisers. However, most of the candidates did not follow the social distancing norms at the UPSC civil service prelims exam center.
Candidates were not following the social distancing norms at this UPSC exam center. (Image Courtesy – PTI)
The Union Public Service Commission, UPSC, conducted the Paper 1 of Civil Services Preliminary Exam 2020 or CSE Prelims 2020 today. Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, UPSC made sure that its centers followed the norms of social distancing and Covid-19 guidelines. While most of the centers did follow the rules, there were few cases where the scenario was different.
Talking to a UPSC aspirant at ‘Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School, Arya Nagar, Ballabgarh, Faridabad’, we came to know that not only norms of social distancing were ignored, but there was also no sanitisation facility available for the candidates at the center, and no thermal screening was done.
“There was no thermal checking done when I entered the examination hall,” says Divya Chopra, who appeared for the UPSC paper-1 general studies exam.
“Moreover, there were no sanitisers available in the examination center,” she added, whose center was in Faridabad.
Candidates were wearing masks and were carrying their sanitisers. However, most of the candidates did not follow the social distancing norms. Further, according to Divya, the hygiene condition of the school was also poor.
“I was scared to appear for the exam after seeing the hygiene condition of the school,” Divya said.
Important guidelines issued by UPSC amid Covid-19 pandemic:
- Wearing mask/face cover is mandatory for all candidates. Candidates without mask/face cover will not be allowed entry into the venue.
- Further, candidates are allowed to bring their hand sanitizer in transparent bottles.
- Besides the above, candidates have to follow Covid-19 norms of ‘social distancing’ as well as ‘personal hygiene’ inside the examination halls/rooms as well as on the premises of the venue.
The Union Public Service Commission is conducting the civil services preliminary examination 2020 at 2,569 centres across 72 cities in the country. This year, more than 10.58 lakh candidates have applied for the UPSC prelims examination.
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