Aurangabad, May 28:
There is no data available on how many candidates cracked the civil services examination after being trained at the Pre IAS Training Center here. Due to lack of facilities and lack of will of students as well as senior officers, the center has not been able to produce good results so far. The center has been run by the government for the last 30 to 35 years.
The department of higher education runs six pre IAS training centers at Aurangabad, Mumbai, Nagpur, Amravati, Nashik and Kolhapur. With the exception of Mumbai and Nagpur, the students could not qualify from other centers. In this regard, the government has given a three-month extension to the committee appointed to make necessary improvements in the functioning of the centers and to submit recommendations and suggestions. Meanwhile, Rs 1.5 crore are spent every year on the Aurangabad training center. In addition, scholarship is provided to 10 trainees from Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Research and Training Institute and 10 from the minority department. However, out of the 80 students admitted, the number of students appearing for the UPSC exam is negligible. Some former directors said that many students take admission here through CET as they get scholarships and prepare for other competitive exams. Making the newly recruited IAS officers to guide the students at the Aurangabad center for at least 15 days can have a positive effect. Currently retired IAS officers provide guidance. But their experience is of little use. Students should get 9 to 10 months training in this center. So that they can prepare for the UPSC pre-examination. If the selection pre-examination is conducted centrally for all the centers in the state, the students will get the opportunity to take training in cities like Nagpur or Mumbai as per their preference, said former director Dr Vitthal More.
Need for awareness among students in rural areas
Centre director Dr Vasant Shedge said that this year, online training has started from May 10 due to covid. Awareness is needed among students in rural areas to become IAS officers through UPSC. It is said that one or two IAS officers have been appointed through this center in the past. However, about 8 to 10 people have joined other services through UPSC.