A major administrative mistake by the Manipur Public Service Commission (MPSC) disrupted the Manipur Civil Services Combined Competitive (Mains) Examination 2022 on Saturday, forcing the authorities to cancel two key papers and announce a new schedule later.
According to officials and candidates, the confusion began during the morning session when aspirants at several centres in Imphal and Guwahati were given the wrong question paper. Candidates expecting to write General Studies Paper III were instead handed General Studies Paper IV. The error was noticed only after the exam had already started, creating confusion and frustration among the examinees.
Realising the mistake, the Commission immediately called off the session and later announced the cancellation of both General Studies Paper III and Paper IV. MPSC said that revised dates for the cancelled papers would be announced after a detailed review. 
However, the announcement did little to ease the anger and disappointment of the candidates who had spent months preparing for the examination. Many aspirants said they had lost faith in the Commission, calling the incident yet another example of its poor management.
“When will we stop paying for their mistakes? Who will compensate for our wasted time, money, and energy?” one candidate said.
Several candidates travelled long distances to take the exam. Some came from outside the state from cities like Delhi, Shillong and Guwahati where they were also preparing for national-level competitive exams. With flight tickets and accommodation costs soaring due to the ongoing unrest in Manipur, many said the cancellation had caused them heavy financial losses.
A few candidates working in private companies said they had taken unpaid leave to appear for the exam, and the last-minute cancellation had put them in a difficult situation. Others expressed concern that this would once again delay the entire recruitment process, which had already seen multiple postponements since 2022.
