Editor,
I am writing to express my concern over an inconsistency in the APPSC TGT examination held on 12 July, 2026, which has left many geography candidates confused and anxious.
As per Advertisement No 02/2026, dated 23 March, 2026, issued by the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) for trained graduate teacher (secondary level) examination, pursuant to the Department of Secondary Education’s Notification No DSE-11027/1/2021-DSE-ED, dated 31 May, 2025, one-sixth (1/6th) of the marks allotted to a question would be deducted for every incorrect answer.
This was clearly reflected in Paper-A (general paper), where the question booklet specifically stated that 0.25 marks would be deducted for each wrong answer. However, the geography (Paper-B) question booklet only mentioned that the paper consisted of 100 questions carrying 3 marks each. It did not mention anywhere that 0.5 mark would be deducted for every incorrect answer.
What is even more surprising is that other concerned subject papers, including physics, political science, economics, English and several others, clearly mentioned the negative marking rule in their question booklets, while the geography paper did not. This inconsistency created unnecessary confusion and placed geography candidates in a different position from candidates of other subjects.
As a geography candidate, I carefully read the instructions printed in the question booklet before attempting the paper. Since no negative marking was mentioned, many candidates, including myself, attempted all 100 questions, believing that there would be no deduction for wrong answers. The presence or absence of negative marking directly affects a candidate’s examination strategy, and such an important instruction should never have been omitted.
The question booklet is the only document available to candidates inside the examination hall, and naturally they rely on its instructions while writing the examination. If negative marking is applied despite the omission in the geography paper, candidates may lose marks because of an error that was beyond their control.
I therefore request the APPSC to issue an official clarification regarding the evaluation of the geography paper and, if the omission resulted from a printing or administrative oversight, to take appropriate steps to ensure that no candidate is unfairly disadvantaged. Consistency and transparency are essential to maintaining confidence in any competitive examination.
I hope the commission will address this matter promptly and take a fair decision in the interest of all affected candidates.
A concerned TGT geography candidate