Congress vice-president S.A. Hussain has urged Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar to discontinue the personality test conducted as part of recruitment through the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC). Hussain argued that the selection of candidates for government posts should be based primarily on their performance in written examinations. He said the existing interview stage provides limited scope for objectively assessing merit and could be replaced with a system that gives greater importance to measurable examination performance.

In a letter to the Chief Minister, Hussain said interviews are different from written examinations because there is limited material that can be examined later to assess how a candidate was evaluated. According to him, responses given during an interview are not recorded in a manner that allows the assessment to be independently re-examined to the same extent as a written examination. He therefore questioned the contribution of the personality test to the overall assessment of merit and called for greater emphasis on transparent and verifiable criteria.

Hussain also referred to changes in recruitment practices at the Union government level. He said the Union government has abolished interviews for Group B, Group C and Group D posts, and suggested that Karnataka could adopt a similar approach in KPSC recruitment. His argument is that written examinations provide a common assessment mechanism for candidates and can reduce the scope for subjective judgments during the final stages of recruitment.

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The Congress leader's demand comes at a time when the KPSC recruitment system is facing scrutiny over allegations of irregularities and questions surrounding the fairness of some selection processes. The commission conducts examinations and recruits candidates for a wide range of posts under the Karnataka government. Any changes to its selection process could therefore affect a large number of aspirants preparing for competitive examinations and seeking appointments to state government departments.

A written-examination-based system, Hussain suggested, could also make the recruitment process easier for candidates to understand and evaluate. Under such an approach, candidates would be able to determine their relative performance through examination marks, while authorities would have a documented basis for the selection process. Supporters of removing interviews from certain government recruitments have often argued that objective examinations can help ensure greater consistency, although personality tests are traditionally intended to assess qualities that may not be fully captured through written papers.

Hussain has consequently asked Shivakumar to consider discontinuing the personality test in KPSC recruitment and placing greater emphasis on written performance. The proposal would require the state government and the commission to examine the existing recruitment rules and determine whether changes are legally and administratively feasible. If implemented, the move could significantly alter the way candidates are assessed for several Karnataka government positions, while also intensifying the debate over how merit, transparency and fairness should be balanced in public-sector recruitment.

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