HPSC reveals selection criteria for assistant profs

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 4

Refusing to reveal citing confidentiality so far, the Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) has eventually made public the criteria it is adopting for the ongoing selections of assistant professors (college cadre) in the Higher Education Department.

A day after The Tribune carried a report, “HPSC refuses to divulge recruitment criteria”, in these columns, the commission uploaded on its website the break-up of marks of the candidates for the posts of assistant professor in subjects of Punjabi, physical education, mass communication, geology, tourism and defence studies.

The HPSC has kept 50 per cent for the marks obtained in the screening test, 30 per cent for marks awarded for personal achievements and 20 marks for the interview.

“Though the HPSC had declared the results of these subjects several days ago, the commission had merely uploaded roll numbers of the successful candidates along with the last cut-off marks. It was only on Tuesday that the commission posted complete break-up of the marks obtained by the candidates, which revealed the selection criteria adopted in the process,” said Ankur Chhabra, a Sirsa resident whom the HPSC refused to inform the selection criteria under the RTI citing it as confidential.

The HPSC has been holding screening test and interviews for the posts of assistant professor in various subjects. While results of six subjects have already been announced, the process is on for the other subjects.

HPSC Chairman Manbir Singh Bhadana said the commission believed in transparency and never had any problem in divulging the selection criteria. “Only because the number of candidates, who will apply is uncertain at the time of advertisement, it was decided not to divulge the selection criteria till the process is complete, since the procedure of shortlisting depended on the number of candidates,” Bhadana said.

He said in the past, 100 per cent of marks were kept for interviews for the shortlisted candidates, but the HPSC this time decided to keep 50 per cent for screening test, 30 per cent for personal achievements and only 20 per cent for interviews.