Merit vs Means - Understanding Socio-Economic Advantage in UPSC Selections

 UPSC [ union public service commission ] today, everyone's favourite exam or we can say a goal or an aim which every 6 out of 10 want to achieve. 

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is the central agency in India to conduct examinations for various civil services of the government of India. A great administrative system can be achieved through this incorporation of powerful, efficient, truthful and dedicated officers and this is where it becomes important.

in one of his interviews Dr Vijendra Singh Chauhan mentioned that majority of people who pass the examination are the ones who have taken a quality of education, belongs from upper middle class families or the ones who have their backup plans or plan B.

One constant from both media coverage and UPSC data analysis is that:

Tremendous majority of successful candidates in UPSC mains or interview stage use English as their medium — though candidates are allowed hindi or any other indian languages in mains , those group of candidates in hindi or in any other indian languages is very less among total selections.

A majority of UPSC candidates belong to city or suburban dweller categories, which normally means that they have better access to quality schooling or coaching infrastructure. One analysis of UPSC aspirant data stated:

Nearly 72 % of the candidates belonged to urban or semi-urban areas, and 17% were from rural areas. This indicates that rural and poor aspirants find it difficult to get through to the final stages of UPSC preparation.

Based on analysis by parliament committee and independent media reports, an increasing number of successful UPSC candidates hold engineering or technical degrees, often pointing towards a section of aspirants who might have had quality education and options (like well-paid corporate jobs).

For instance, one report mentioned that approximately 70 % of the recruits have an engineering or medical background, a cohort that statistically has a large number of people from upper-middle-class education.

Analysis of the UPSC exam results and profiles of aspirants reveal that despite the legally meritocratic and constitutionally apolitical structure of the UPSC system, structural disparities determine who ends up succeeding. There is no official UPSC report that explicitly said only candidates hailing from upper middle class, English medium background and having backup plans can crack the examination. But, we found that independent research, media reports and sociological observations strongly suggest patterns in the indicaton.

A majority of aspirants who clear this exam are also from urban and semi-urban backgrounds, have studied in English medium schools, and many are professionally qualified or have technical degrees. These are all closely related with access to good education, coaching institutions, study materials, peer group and economic stability. Meanwhile, the fact that English is the “working language” for preparation, writing answers and interviews despite the constitutional protection for regional languages

Also, having a backup plan a corporate job, family financial support, some other career option seems to matter. This enables aspirants to study for several years without the stress of needing to earn an income right away, thereby bolstering perseverance and resilience in a process that is highly competitive. On the contrary, aspirants belonging to poorer or rural background have to contend with time and resource constraints, language barriers, and social pressure, all of which hamper their ability to prepare over the long term.

Hence, success in the UPSC is not to be considered solely as a function of individual merit. It is also shaped by social capital, economic security, language advantage, and institutional access. While exceptional candidates from disadvantaged backgrounds do succeed and inspire the nation, but at last exceptions must not be taken as examples or idols....

so, if anyone is planning to prepare for upsc must consider these points before preparing the examination and must work on their plan B also, so that they don't have to solely rely on the examination.

for more information- theunfilteredbharat.blogspot.com