“Test in Punjabi for government jobs” controversy; CM issues his govt’s intention

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“Test in Punjabi for government jobs” controversy; CM issues his govt’s intention

Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in

“Punjab ,Punjabiyat First. Mother tounge Punjabi has been made compulsory in the aptitude test for government jobs. At least 50 percnt marks will be mandatory in the test. Mother tounge Punjabi is our identity all over the world. The aim of our government is to promote Punjabi in all aspects.” tweeted Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann after a controversy erupted over naib tehsildar test conducted by the Punjab Public Service Commission’s (PPSC) failed to issue the question paper in Punjabi.

The CM tweet is unclear as it does not clarify  the job categories A,B,C,D for which the 50 percents marks are required to qualify the test.

Yesterday, on May 24,2022, , the Chairman Punjab Public Service Commission Jagbans Singh on  clarified that the rules of procedure prescribed by the PPSC for its functioning clearly stipulate that the question paper be set in English language only and all such examinations in the past too have been conducted in English only.

“Test in Punjabi for government jobs” controversy; CM issues his govt’s intention-Photo courtesy-internet

Pointing out further, PPSC Chairman said that the only exception to the aforesaid rule is the Punjab State Civil Services Combined Competitive Examination – both preliminary and main – where it is mandated by the Government notified rules to conduct the examination in both English and Punjabi.

Referring to the issue raised by media regarding the examination of Naib Tehsildars recently conducted by PPSC, the Chairman averred that the question paper, which consisted of multiple choice questions requiring the candidates only to select the correct option out of the four given options, was set in the English language.

However, the minimum eligible qualification for the post of Naib Tehsildar is graduation and a graduate in any stream is expected to have a basic knowledge of English that enables him/her to choose correct options in multiple-choice questions. Therefore, no written expression of language is required to answer the questions in such examinations, added the Chairman PPSC.

May 25,2022