Congress leader urges Karnataka to drop personality test from civil service hiring

Congress vice‑president S.A. Hussain has asked the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) to discontinue the personality test that forms part of its recruitment process for certain posts. He argued that the assessment adds a layer of subjectivity and is unnecessary for the roles in question. Hussain’s demand was reported by The Hindu.

The call comes shortly after the Union Government announced that interviews for Group B, C and D positions across the civil services have been abolished. The Hindu noted that the central move aims to streamline hiring and reduce discretionary hurdles for candidates.

Personality tests, often modeled after psychometric tools, have been a fixture in Karnataka’s state‑level recruitment for years. Critics say the exams favor candidates with better coaching access and can be manipulated by officials, leading to legal challenges in courts. Similar assessments in other Indian states have faced scrutiny for lacking transparency and for being difficult to validate against job performance.

KPSC, the agency responsible for conducting examinations for the state’s bureaucracy, introduced the personality component to gauge traits such as leadership, communication and decision‑making. While the commission maintains that the test helps identify suitable candidates for supervisory roles, the lack of a clear scoring rubric has drawn complaints from aspirants and civil‑society groups.

If the personality test is removed, candidates for the affected posts would rely solely on written examinations and other objective criteria. This could accelerate the selection timeline and potentially widen the pool of eligible applicants, especially those from rural or economically disadvantaged backgrounds who may not afford specialized coaching. Politically, Hussain’s demand aligns with broader opposition criticism of perceived centralisation of recruitment powers and the push for merit‑based hiring.

The next steps are likely to involve a review by the state government and KPSC’s internal committees. Any amendment would require a formal notification and could be subject to further legal scrutiny, given past court interventions on similar matters. Stakeholders, including student unions and private coaching centres, will be watching the outcome closely, as it may set a precedent for other state commissions.