IMPHAL, February 27: The All Tribal Students Union Manipur (ATSUM) has urged the government to reconsider the decision of age relaxation for the Manipur Civil Service exams. A press release issued by Vareiyo Shatshang, ATSUM general secretary mentions that the upper age relaxation should be fixed at 40 years for general category, 45 years for scheduled tribes and other categories on a permanent basis.
The student body also lauded the decision of relaxing the upper age limit for appearing in the exam upto 35 years for the general category and 40 for SC/ST category but stated that the norm has been in vogue since the MPSC came into being. It said that in other states the age relaxation is being fixed at what the ATSUM is demanding.
It mentioned that the age for appearing in the civil services has been fixed at 40 for general and 45 for SC/St in the states of Tripura,West Bengal, Uttarkhand, UP, Jharkhand, Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and Assam.
The body also drew attention to the fact that within a decade and half from 2000 AD, only three MCSCC exams have been conducted and many aspiring candidates have been barred due to the irregular recruitment. Legal impediments and man-made factors have resulted in the cancellation of the MCS exam in 1994 and 2008.
The body urged the state authorities to consider the upper age relaxation to 5 years more from what was announced in the Assembly session held yesterday so that the prospective candidates can appear in the forthcoming MCS exam slated to be held on April 10, 2014.