Prayagraj: The Uttar Pradesh Education Service Selection Commission (UPESSC) has changed the examination pattern for the recruitment of assistant professors in 330 govt-aided degree colleges across the state, increasing the number of questions while introducing negative marking for the first time.Under the revised pattern, candidates will have to answer 120 questions in two hours, compared with 100 questions in the earlier examination. The new paper will comprise 90 questions from the concerned subject and 30 questions from general studies. Each question will carry three marks, making the written examination a total of 360 marks.The introduction of negative marking is considered the most significant change in the revised examination pattern. Candidates will lose marks for every incorrect answer, with the deduction being one-third of the marks assigned to the question, or one mark. There was no provision for negative marking in the earlier examination.The revised pattern has been welcomed by aspirants, who said the earlier format did not adequately assess candidates across the entire syllabus because of the limited number of subject-specific questions. They pointed out that some subjects have extensive syllabi. For instance, the Hindi syllabus includes more than 50 books, while only 70 subject-related questions were asked in the previous examination.The changes come at a time when the commission is preparing to initiate a major recruitment drive for assistant professors. After beginning the selection process on Tuesday for 111 principal posts in aided degree colleges, the commission is expected to soon issue an advertisement for the recruitment of 2,107 vacant assistant professor posts received from the Directorate of Higher Education. The commission has set a target of completing the selection process by December.The examination pattern for recruitment to aided secondary schools has also been revised. The state has 4,512 aided secondary schools where trained graduate teacher (TGT) and postgraduate teacher (PGT) recruitment is conducted. While the written examinations held in May and June focused only on questions related to the respective subjects, the revised two-hour examination will now also include questions on general knowledge.
