UPSC prelims to be held in 50 centres in two shifts

GURUGRAM: After the Supreme Court dismissed the petition to postpone the UPSC prelims, the district has established 50 centres for over 17,000 candidates who will write the exam on Sunday.
Each centre will conduct the exam in two shifts to ensure staggered entry and exit of the aspirants. While the onus of sanitisation was on the centres, the administration also directed its teams to carry out a parallel sanitisation drive too to rule out the possibility of lapses.
As per the directions, all the students have been asked to report early for the two shifts that start at 9:30 am and 2.30 am. The centers will open their gates for the students an hour before the exam to carry out the thermal scanning and sanitization of the aspirants. In a class, only 24 aspirants will be allowed to sit, ensuring a distance of six-feet between two candidates. Each class will have two invigilators, one from the school that is hosting the exam and the other a government school teacher.
“Centres have also been asked to provide a separate room for candidates who report Covid-like symptoms or any kind of uneasiness. All students and invigilators will be wearing masks at all times and no interactions inside the classroom or in the campus before or after the exam will be allowed,” said Bhisham Bharadwaj, director of Drona Public School in Sector 9, one of the centers for the exam.
On Saturday, multiple MCG teams visited many of these centres to sanitise the premises. The district administration has also deputed duty magistrates and officers to ensure that exams are conducted as per the Covid norms mandated by the ministry of home affairs.
“We’ve issued directions to centres and they’ve been asked to ensure that Covid norms are followed. We have also deputed 14 duty magistrates for this,” said a senior official.