SHILLONG: After the UPSC results are announced there are expectations that aspirants from Meghalaya would make it to the elite services but those expectations are belied. The last time a young lady from Meghalaya cleared her Civil Services Exams (CSE) was in 2012. Why are the youth of the state not able to crack the CSE? What sort of regimentation is required to prepare oneself for this exam?
To get some clue, The Shillong Times caught up with Isawanda Laloo, DC South West Khasi Hills to get a few insights from her on how she cleared the CSE and what all goes into the preparation of this life-
transforming, much aspired for exam.
ST: You cleared the Civil Services Examination (CSE) conducted by the UPSC in 2012. How difficult was your journey and how did you clear the exam? What was your study schedule and how many hours a day did you study?
Isawanda: I started preparing for the exam in late 2009 after completing my MA from Delhi University. I sat for the exam for a total of three attempts:-
- a) First attempt- CSE 2010: Wrote Prelims- Didn’t clear Prelims
b)Second attempt- CSE 2011: Cleared Prelims, Mains and Interview: Obtained an All India Rank of 850 and selected in 2012 to the Indian Audit and Accounts Service
c)Third attempt- CSE 2012: Cleared Prelims, Mains and Interview: Obtained an All India Rank of 351 and selected in 2013 to the Indian Administrative Service
I’d planned to attempt the exam after pursuing my post-graduation, hence I enrolled in a Coaching Institute in Delhi immediately after, in 2009. Thus it was a total of 4 years from the time I started my preparation till the time I was able to get into the service of my choice.
In 2011, I returned home to Shillong to continue my preparation at home. In the meantime, I was able to clear my NET-JRF. In June 2012, I was appointed as Assistant Professor at the English Department, NEHU, and joined the said post, forgoing the appointment to the IA&AS. Hence I taught at the university for a year, while also giving my last attempt at the exam, and joined training for the IAS in September 2013.
ST: How difficult was the journey & how did you clear the exam?
Isawanda: Looking back, it was indeed a long and gruelling journey, made all the more difficult because of the uncertainty of it all. The duration of each exam right from the Prelims till the declaration of the final result spans almost a year. It’s a vast and difficult exam with lakhs of aspirants each year. The decision of whether to continue giving it another shot after each successive failed attempt is not an easy one.
Having said that, since I’d made up my mind to write the exam and was prepared for the long haul. This is important for any serious candidate- the decision to devote a year, two or even more in preparing for the exam. Over the course of these attempts, I polished up my preparation and gained more confidence.
Clearing the exam was a matter of intense study, smart and strategic preparation, and constant revision. Also, choice of optional subject is important. I was an English Literature student so it seemed like a natural choice to select that as one of my optionals, instead of going for a newer, or traditionally more popular optional subject. For the other optional paper, I selected Public Administration, and since it was new to me, I joined a coaching programme for the paper.
- a) Putting in the hours counts! After returning home to continue my preparation in Shillong after having spent 7 years in Delhi, I was confined to my room and did little else apart from studying, especially when the exams were drawing closer.
- b) Important to focus on weak spots. I was a Liberal Arts student. CSAT was introduced in my year. There was a lot of quantitative aptitude, logic and reasoning, etc which I needed to sit with from scratch and master. Select the correct books, there is no point overloading oneself with too much material.
- c) Writing practice is crucial. Solving old papers, simulating an actual exam set-up, timing oneself while writing.
- d) Initially with coaching it was difficult to put in the requisite individual study hours. Hence I feel I made a good decision coming back home and consolidating everything that I’d picked up and focusing on self-study after my first attempt was done. I studied for anything between 5 to 14 hours a day.
- e) It is easier to systematise it in this fashion now. Back then, many times it was a blur. Very often it was frustrating. I had the solid support of my family, and am extremely fortunate that my parents could finance my preparation and stay in Delhi and support me when I came back. Talking to peers helped, some seniors in the cadre whom I had gotten to know, etc.
- f) Studying in Delhi helped. Being in that competitive exam eco-system and seeing and talking to fellow aspirants, and learning about success stories was very useful. If anything, it broadened my understanding of the exam, and it gave me that extra bit of grit needed to compete for such a tough exam.
- g) Reminding myself of why I wanted to sit for it- a childhood dream- my parents’ trust in me- a wish to be part of a prestigious service with such tremendous scope for doing good and becoming an agent of change.
ST: How important is critical thinking in scoring for the CSE?
Isawanda: Critical thinking is imperative. Study needs to be in-depth, smart, with a clear grasping of concepts. Questions are rarely straightforward. The essay paper and other questions in some of the papers test the ability to analyse and evaluate the subject matter at hand in an objective manner. Overall, the exam, through all the different papers and the Personality Test (Interview) tests various dimensions of a candidate’s ability and aptitude in becoming a civil servant.
ST: What are some of the handicaps you encountered that you wouldlike to share with CSE-UPSC aspirants?
Isawanda: Be dogged and determined. Intelligence counts, yes, but smartness, strategy and perseverance also matter, when it comes to the UPSC. It is not only lifetime high achievers who make the cut. If you’ve got a mind to do it, just persist. Talk to people, do your research, clear your doubts, scour the internet, make use of the resources you have- and then when it comes to the crunch, go all out.
ST: Why do you think the youth of Meghalaya are not making the cut?
Isawanda: I feel not enough people from the state are sitting seriously for the exam. The more the number of people preparing for and writing the exam, the higher the likelihood of people making the cut. More young people need to think about the civil services as a career option.
There is absolutely no dearth of brightness or talent in our state. We need a multi pronged approach- develop a real interest among youth in competitive exams, make the MPSC state civil services more regular- a sustained competitive atmosphere, based on rigour and merit, in the state will provide the right grooming for the UPSC in the long term.
Identify talent: a lot of it resides in rural areas. I advise many young aspirants to read more-language and communication skills matter a lot. Today the government has tied up with elite coaching institutes like ALS to provide the right orientation for interested candidates- these must be capitalised upon.
The candidates have been selected through a competitive process in each district- we must follow up on these boys and girls and motivate them to continue pursuing the dream. The Chief Minister’s Career Guidance and Counselling Programme also has a mentoring component. Unofficially I give tips to aspirants whenever I can- in the long term if there is a way to formalise this, so that there the exam is demystified, there is an atmosphere of competition and rigour.
Lastly, it is a cliché but nothing substitutes hard work. We must give hard work the value and recognition it deserves- it is a tendency to glorify something that is ‘effortless’ as if doing something without effort deserves more commendation somehow. We must revive a culture of sincerity and hard work and take pride in it as well. And also be sure to enjoy the journey!