Chennai: Nearly one-fourth of the candidates who applied for the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission's (TNPSC) Group 2 and 2A preliminary examination stayed away from the test, while those who appeared said the paper was difficult.

The exam, held on Sunday across 1,905 centres in Tamil Nadu, saw the participation of 4,18,791 candidates out of 5,53,634 applicants — a turnout of 75.64 percent. As many as 1,34,843 candidates were absent.

Speaking after inspecting a centre at a school in Harrington Road, Chennai, TNPSC Chairman Prabhakar said the question paper was prepared in multiple stages to ensure confidentiality. “An expert committee checks translations and verifies if questions are within the syllabus. Errors in printing or translation make us unhappy. Experts responsible for wrong questions have been removed. If mistakes are found, the committee ensures corrective steps so that students are not affected,” he said.

The Chairman added that results of the Group 2 and 2A exams would be announced in December and that the TNPSC exam schedule for 2026 is expected by the same month.

This year's paper included questions on the Union Government's Swachh Bharat Mission, the Women's Reservation Bill passed in the Lok Sabha on September 20, 2023, and the Tamil Nadu Government's Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam.