Chennai: Nearly 47.44 per cent of candidates who registered for the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission's (TNPSC) combined technical services examination failed to appear for the test, officials said on Monday.

The exam was conducted to fill 1,033 posts, for which the notification was issued on May 21. A total of 92,509 candidates had applied for the recruitment process. The subject-wise competitive tests were held between August 4 and 10 across various centres in the state.

On Sunday, the Tamil language eligibility test, general knowledge paper, skill test and translation test were conducted in two sessions. However, only 48,627 candidates appeared for the examination, while 43,882 remained absent, officials said. The high absentee percentage has raised concern among the commission authorities.

Reacting to the development, Tamil Nadu All-Level Competitive Exam Candidates Association president Khalil Pasha said the absence of such a large number of candidates in the Tamil language eligibility test reflects a lack of confidence in the TNPSC administration. “When nearly half the applicants do not appear, it indicates systemic trust issues that need to be addressed,” he said.

The TNPSC is yet to issue an official statement on the reasons for the low turnout.