•Which of the following is a noble gas: hydrogen, helium, oxygen or carbon?•Which of these foods are best source of Omega 3 fatty acid: Milk, fruits, chicken or mutton?Mumbai: For thousands of hopefuls seeking a secure livelihood with the BEST undertaking, questions like these in the conductor recruitment examination turned into an unexpected academic minefield rather than a test of their suitability for life on board the city’s crowded buses.More than 13,000 candidates appeared for a written examination to fill 367 conductor posts, expecting questions that would assess their ability to manage passengers, issue tickets, handle cash transactions and navigate the daily challenges of public transport. Instead, many walked out bewildered, complaining that the 100-mark paper resembled a competitive examination for senior officials rather than a recruitment test for conductors.The grievances reached the BEST committee on Wednesday, where BJP member Sunil Ganacharya raised the issue, saying numerous candidates had approached elected representatives after failing to secure the mandatory 50% passing mark.The questions, aspirants claimed, veered into unfamiliar territory. One asked candidates to identify the correct synonym of “cogent” in a legal context. Another required them to interpret the idiom “tie the knot”.Some questions involved history and freedom struggle. A question asked ‘Shaukat Ali was involved in which event/movement: Swadeshi movement, Chauri Chaura event, Khilafat movement or Kakori conspiracy?’Mathematical equations involving fractions, decimals and lengthy calculations added to the challenge, such as {(175×52/13+36) x 26 /299} X 1/8, said Ganacharya. He presented a question list to the media and to those in the panel.For many applicants, particularly middle-aged job seekers hoping for a stable government-linked position with a monthly salary of over Rs 30,000 and benefits such as medical facilities, pension and potential staff housing, the examination came as a rude shock.“These are Class X-pass candidates whose primary work is to deal with crowds and issue tickets. Many felt they were being tested on subjects unrelated to the job,” Ganacharya said.Adding weight to the complaints, BEST committee chairperson Trushna Vishwasrao said she too had received representations alleging that several questions were “out of syllabus”.She suggested that the 50% qualifying mark be reconsidered and argued that conductors should be tested through simpler, job-oriented questions.A BEST official said that they had followed a transparent test process and the papers were set by an external agency.
