Bhubaneswar: Good news for those who have either exhausted the chances of appearing the Odisha Civil Services (OCS) examinations or have attained the upper age limit. The state government has allowed one more attempt to these aspirants to appear in the OCS examinations, 2020.
Keeping Covid-19 pandemic in mind, the General Administration and Public Grievances department has issued a notification in this regard. The provisions of the OCS, Combined Competitive Recruitment Examination (CCRE), Rules, 1991 will be amended accordingly, it said.
The candidates, who have appeared in OCS examinations-2018 or 2019 and are ineligible to appear in the test in 2020 for attaining upper age limit or those who have exhausted the attempts prescribed under the Rules, will be allowed one more compensatory attempt for appearing the OCS Examination- 2020.
The state government has already given two additional attempts to the aspirants following their request. In spite of that, some aspirants have once again urged the government to allow additional chances to appear in both preliminary and main examinations considering the Covid-19 induced disruptions to coaching and library facilities this year.
Even though the Covid-19 was announced as a disaster in the state, Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) conducted the OCSE-2019 (Prelims) March 15. As a result, many meritorious rural OCS aspirants could not appear in the examination.
Welcoming the move of the government, Satya Mohapatra, an OCS aspirant, said, “All educational institutions still remain closed. We are unable to prepare for the examinations at home. The government should consider for another chance.”
