Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Assistant professor recruitment exam held on Sunday witnessed very low turnout with only 40 per cent of the candidates showing up. Of the 3,000 candidates registered for the exam, just 1,200 appeared marking a 60 per cent absentee rate.
The exam, which was conducted by for Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission in two shifts across seven centres in Indore, covered a diverse range of 19 subjects, including dance and music, environmental science, geology, Marathi, military science, biochemistry, organic chemistry, physical chemistry, musical instruments, painting, philosophy, psychology, Sanskrit and its literature and statistics.
A total of 109 vacancies are available across these subjects for assistant professor positions. The exam represents the final phase of the recruitment process, which has already seen a declining trend in terms of both applications and attendance.
Candidates were required to reach the exam centre at least one hour before the start but the turnout was still significantly lower than expected. Experts are attributing the decreasing interest in public service commission exams to several factors, including the increasing competitiveness and a shift in the job market. The trend is not limited to just the assistant professor exam; similar declines have been observed in other key MPPSC exams.
