CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu has had just 27 successful candidates in the Union Public Service Commission's civil services exam 2021, results of which were announced on Monday.
Citing a declining interest among students, lack of fluency in Tamil and English and high paying jobs in the private sector, S Chandru, academic head, Shankar IAS Academy in Anna Nagar, said, "It is one of the worst performances in a decade. Civil service aspirants lack proficiency in both English and Tamil." It is difficult to clear the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) without proficiency in English, he added.
While Swathi Sree T of Coimbatore emerged the state topper with all India 42nd rank, S Sivanandham of Chennai secured 87th rank in his first attempt. This year, 27 of 685 candidates cleared the exam against 45 of 781 in 2020.
A successful candidates said the craze for civil services in the state was waning due to availability of high paying jobs in the private sector. "With the number of aspirants coming down, the number of candidates clearing the exam also comes down."
Around 30,000 TN candidates appeared for the preliminary exam 2021. "The actual number of students selected from TN is lower. Other state candidates who took the exam from Chennai are also among the 27," said S Boominathan, managing director of KingMakers IAS Academy.
In the past 2-3 years, only one or two candidates who wrote the exam in Tamil cleared civil service exams.
Other experts said candidates earlier prepared for UPSC exams for 6-7 years. Now, many are not able to spend even two years. "Now, they want a job quickly. They lack perseverance," said S S Jawahar, a former IAS officer who trains civil service aspirants. In other states, candidates shortlisted for interviews are given a stipend and offered expert coaching and special training. Experts have asked the government to focus on improving language skills in schools and to give stipends for students selected for main exams.
