UPSC Articles
Common eligibility test (CET)
Part of: GS Prelims and GS-II- Governance
In News:
- Government will have common test – CET- for railway, bank, Central government jobs from 2021
- The CET will replace the first level tests conducted by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) and the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS).
- To streamline the hiring process, Centre will set up an autonomous National Recruitment Agency to conduct the online test.
- There will be Common Portal for registration, single entrance fee and Common Curriculum
- Merits of having Common test are:
- Level playing field for all candidates by removing the obstacles involved in appearing for multiple examinations
- Reduced Chances of Paper Leak: A standardised question bank with multiple questions of similar difficulty levels will be created in a central server.
- An algorithm will be used to jumble and dole out different questions, so that each candidate receives a different question paper, reducing the chances of cheating and paper leakage.
- Quick Process: Scores will be generated quickly, delivered online and be valid for a three-year period. Presently these exam cycle process takes on an average 6-12 months
- Huge Savings: For the recruiting agencies, the savings in terms of logistics will be huge.
- For more specialised positions, the CET will act as the preliminary elimination level, which can be followed by further testing by the separate agencies.
- One of the big concerns is language but the Centre has planned to make the test available in multiple languages including all those notified under Schedule 8 of the Constitution
