Kerala Public Service Commission to Conduct Common Tests 

 
The Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) is gearing up to conduct common recruitment
tests for posts which require the same basic qualification. The decision has been made to
expedite the recruitment process and reduce the number of examinations held every year.

At present, nearly 200 examinations are held in various centres across the State on Saturdays
through the year. Making arrangements to conduct multiple examinations a day has been found
to be exacting and expensive. At times, the commission will have to conduct more than five
examinations a day, causing duplication of tasks and additional expenses coming to lakhs.
Common examinations had been proposed for the posts of assistant surgeon, which had MBBS
as the basic qualification, deputy collector, block development officer, junior employment offic
er and assistant in the Secretariat, the PSC and various companies and corporations.

Common notifications with examination dates for such posts have been proposed. A separate
rank list will be prepared for every department. Candidates will be given the right to opt for the
departments they prefer. As a preliminary step, common tests are being conducted for recruiting
village men and last grade staff to various departments. The commission received 11.75 lakh
applications for the posts. It was decided to conduct two examinations each in all 14 districts
from June.

But for the examination postponed from July 5 owing to a hartal, all others are being held as per
schedule and will be over by October. The same model will be followed in the case of other
posts, starting with the examination for selecting assistant surgeons in the Health Department and
medical officers in the insurance sector.

Since the government has fixed March 31 as the unified retirement date of government
employees every year, reporting vacancies in time has become imperative. The commission will
get a clear idea about the vacancies and hence conducting such tests will be easy.