New Delhi: As a veteran sub-divisional engineer in Haryana, Singh hasn’t prepared for any test in the last 25 years. Not even when he had to take the annual departmental examination for a promotion and a salary increment. It was always treated as a formality, and many engineers didn’t clear it, including Singh. This year, though, the civil engineer’s failure became news.
For the first time, the professional competency exam was conducted by the Haryana Institute of Public Administration (HIPA) rather than internally by the PWD. When the results were announced last week, they quickly turned into headlines. Only seven out of 61 assistant and sub-divisional engineers passed all the papers. The other 89 per cent were held up as evidence that the government’s claims of merit-based recruitment were shaky. Their qualifications as engineers came under a shadow.
For Singh, this characterisation is patently unfair.
“Last time I studied was 30 years ago, and that too only for my diploma. In this exam, they asked B.Tech-level questions. How am I supposed to know all that? I’ve never studied it,” said Singh, who is in his mid-50s and set to retire in a few years.
The Departmental Professional Examination is mandatory for promotions from junior engineer (JE) to subdivisional engineer (SDE) and then executive engineer. The papers cover departmental codes, measurement books, PWD accounting procedures, contract rules, estimate preparation, and vigilance norms. These are theory-heavy subjectsthat engineers rarely revisit once they start doing field work.
Many engineers claim that the level of the test was unusually difficult this year and far removed from their day-to-day work. Held by HIPA in Gurugram from 10 to 12 May 2025 and followed by a viva voce by PWD (Building & Roads) on 13 June, the exam required candidates to get at least 60 per cent in each paper.
Many of those who appeared had risen from junior engineer (JE) to subdivisional engineer (SDE) through a diploma route, not a B.Tech degree. Each candidate gets only three attempts to pass. The consequences of not managing to do so include a black mark in their annual confidential report (ACR) and being denied a promotion. But what stung the most was the humiliation.
Those who failed say they are being shamed as “incompetent”, their names circulating on WhatsApp groups. They approached higher authorities requesting that the cutoff be lowered to 50 or 55 per cent, but the plea was rejected — no change in exam pattern or cutoff will be made.
“People are linking this exam to our qualifications. We were selected because we were qualified,” said one of the engineers who appeared this year. “This exam is only for promotion and increment. Many engineers don’t even want promotions — they’re happy in their current role. Many are close to retirement and don’t sit for it. But the news made it look like we are failures.”
Not being able to clear a departmental exam cannot be an indictment of an engineer’s entire career, according to Rajesh Ruhil, President of the Diploma Engineers Association.
“Our engineers are not weak or unqualified. They joined through a fair selection system and have served the state for decades. They know their work, and people should respect that,” he added.
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Why failure was accepted
Flunking departmental exams is par for the course.
In 2022, only six out of 36 engineers who gave the exam passed. In 2016, 65 sat and 21 cleared it, and in 2017, 58 appeared and 27 cleared the exam.
A civil engineer from Rohtak, who took the exam last year and couldn’t clear even one out of the five papers, said he had never faced any stigma earlier.
“This is normal. Very few people clear it,” he said. “In 2016 and 2017, people had years left before retirement so they prepared properly, and workload wasn’t so hectic. In the last five years the work culture has changed drastically — we don’t get time to study at all. That reflects in the results.”
All in all, the exams are not taken very seriously. This year, many candidates didn’t appear for the exam at all. Engineers say it is common in departmental tests for people to apply but not show up.
Most of the current batch have been in the job for more than 20 years. They face this exam about once every eight years to get a promotion and a pay increment.
The incentives for preparing are low, many engineers say. Some calculate the effort against the gains of a potential promotion and decide to let it slide.
“I am 52 years old and I gave the exam. If I clear it, I will get a 1 per cent increment. Now tell me why will I bother so much to study only for a 1 per cent increment, and that too a syllabus of B.Tech level. That doesn’t make much sense,” said an engineer from Rohtak.
Singh added that most people of their age had more important exams to worry about—those of their children.
“By this age, almost everyone has children appearing for their own board exams. Naturally, people prioritise their kids’ exams over departmental ones — anyone would,” he said.
Five civil engineers were absent from all papers. Multiple candidates appeared for some exams but skipped others.
The written format of the exam itself is not suited to the professional strengths of department engineers, according to Deen Dayal Kumar, a retired civil engineer from Hisar. They are more accustomed to hands-on work.
“Engineers have to deal with the public all day and night; they lose touch with books. They do their work practically. When they get asked difficult questions in a difficult language they aren’t able to answer,” he added.
Kumar blames social media for “sensationalising” the high fail rate and blowing it out of proportion.
“In our times, it used to be easy, but even back then, people couldn’t clear it. Now, with social media, everything is sensational and they are portraying it as if the engineers aren’t capable. But they are doing their jobs. If they aren’t, it’s the department’s responsibility to take action,” he said.
Some engineers, however, insist this year’s results had less to do with indifference toward the exam and more to do with the papers becoming tougher.
The new sting of shame
The exam pattern changed abruptly after HIPA took over, according to engineers. They say earlier papers focused on practical knowledge, field measurements, and departmental procedures, but this year’s version was far more theoretical.
“We were tested on subjects we don’t use in our daily work. Even fresh B.Tech graduates would take time to prepare this syllabus,” said a JE-turned-SDE from Hisar.
There is also no formal preparation offered by the department. Engineers don’t get any classes, sessions, or workshops to help them gear up for the exam. The results, too, have traditionally come and gone with no fanfare.
Historically, individual technical departments such as PWD, Public Health Engineering, and Irrigation conducted the exam themselves and published the results on the PWD portal. HIPA, however, posts date sheets, roll lists, and candidate lists for the PWD exam on its website.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)