The Siddaramaiah government had allocated a whopping Rs. 6.2 crore to establish coaching centres and train IAS and IPS aspirants from the Kalyana Karnataka region. However, only four out of 892 beneficiaries from the inaugural batch in 2021-22 successfully cleared the preliminary stage of the Civil Services Exam (CSE) administered by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
How was the sum disbursed?
Of the total expenditure, Rs. 5.4 crore was used to hire four coaching institutes to provide training across six districts, with an additional Rs 83.2 lakh allocated for a monthly stipend of Rs. 6,000 for each trainee.
This information was elicited from an internal audit of the IAS/KAS training program conducted by the Kalyana Karnataka Human Resource, Agricultural and Cultural Society (KKHRACS) and reported by the Karnataka Monitoring and Evaluation Authority. The assessment report, published in June 2024 and referenced by the Times of India, indicated that only 64 of the candidates interviewed (13%) chose to take the CSE, while 430 candidates (87%) did not participate in the IAS exams despite receiving extensive training.
What were the problems?
The audit revealed that about 36.8% of the participants attended training for the full duration, although stipends were disbursed to 85.2% of the trainees. The study streamlined several factors contributing to the low performance, such as limited access to online resources due to inadequate telecom networks. The training was conducted in both online and offline formats while adhering to Covid protocols.
Trainees reported challenges including a lack of smartphones, insufficient mobile data for extended training sessions, and inadequate training materials. Some expressed that their focus was on KAS, believing that the training for the UPSC exam would be beneficial for the KPSC exam, as noted in the report. Interestingly, the study found that 69% of trainees pursued other competitive exams, with nearly 17% successfully passing those, despite the training being specifically designed for IAS/IPS aspirants.
Based on these findings, the evaluation authority recommended that the government implement training programs consistently and for longer durations to enhance success rates. They also suggested increasing the monthly stipend and ensuring timely payments, considering inflation and rising living costs.
