Bengaluru: In a first, the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) will deploy two invigilators in every examination hall for the gazette probationers preliminary exam on Sunday. One of them must be a govt college employee, a move meant to strengthen identity checks, frisking and surveillance.Reviewing preparations through a video conference with deputy commissioners (DCs) and superintendents of police on Thursday, chief minister D K Shivakumar asked for a transparent exercise with no scope for malpractice. A total of 1,47,067 candidates have applied for the 319 posts.He told DCs to train all exam personnel on the lines of election officials and submit a preparedness report. Police have been told to put in place security on a par with police recruitment exams. No unauthorised person should enter a centre, and even authorised staff must undergo checks and carry only permitted items.Officials were asked to assess the sensitivity of each centre and deploy personnel accordingly, hiring extra security equipment or bringing in police from other locations, if needed.Candidates must not be allowed inside with mobile phones, the CM warned senior officials. He also asked officials to take stringent steps against impersonation and directed the e-governance department to introduce Aadhaar based identity verification at centres in the future.Private aided institutions found facilitating malpractice at their centres will lose their licences, he said. Police have been instructed to monitor social media for rumours.KPSC controller of examinations H Prasanna said the OMR system has been revised, with five options for every question. Candidates who do not know an answer must mark the fifth option, as no question can be left unanswered. Each OMR sheet will have three copies–for the candidate, KPSC evaluation and strongroom of the DC or KPSC.All halls will have CCTV cameras and mobile jammers. Scanned copies of all OMR sheets will be uploaded on the KPSC website on the day of the exam.
