A clash broke out between civil service aspirants and the police on Bailey Road in Patna on Friday as students protested against the proposed “normalisation” process for the upcoming Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) preliminary examination.
The protesters, demanding clarity and fairness in the examination process, blocked a major road, causing significant traffic disruptions. The demonstration turned violent when the police resorted to a lathi charge to disperse the crowd, leaving several injured, including student leader Dilip Kumar.
Police officials described the protest as illegal due to the lack of prior permission. Deputy Superintendent of Police Anu Kumari stated, “We have asked the protesters to appoint a delegation of five representatives to discuss their demands.”
Educators Joins Protests
Prominent educators from local coaching centers, including Khan Sir and Guru Rahman, joined the protests and urged the BPSC to issue a clear written notification confirming that normalisation will not be implemented in the preliminary examination scheduled for December 13.
Khan Sir criticized the use of normalisation in general studies exams, arguing, “This is not Mathematics, where scores can be adjusted uniformly. It would be unfair and could deprive deserving candidates of their rightful opportunities.” Guru Rahman added, “We stand with the students and will continue protesting until the commission provides a written assurance.”
What Is Normalisation?
Normalisation is a statistical method used to address variations in the difficulty levels of question papers distributed across different shifts. However, the commission has not explicitly clarified whether the process will be applied, leading to widespread confusion and opposition among candidates.
BPSC Secretary Satya Prakash Sharma clarified that the exam will be conducted in a single shift and no decision on normalisation has been announced. However, the aspirants demanded an official notification from the commission’s chairperson, R.B. Parmar, to eliminate doubts.
The BPSC had previously implemented normalisation in its 64th Combined (Preliminary) Competitive Examination in 2018, which led to widespread discrepancies and legal challenges. Following court intervention, the commission re-evaluated results, revising merit rankings for many candidates.
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