Mumbai bus conductor aspirants stumped by questions on noble gases and fatty acids

Which of the following is a noble gas: hydrogen, helium, oxygen or carbon?•Which of these foods are best source of Omega 3 fatty acid: Milk, fruits, chicken or mutton?

Mumbai: For thousands of hopefuls seeking a secure livelihood with the BEST undertaking, questions like these in the conductor recruitment examination turned into an unexpected academic minefield rather than a test of their suitability for life on board the city’s crowded buses.

More than 13,000 candidates appeared for a written examination to fill 367 conductor posts, expecting questions that would assess their ability to manage passengers, issue tickets, handle cash transactions and navigate the daily challenges of public transport. Instead, many walked out bewildered, complaining that the 100-mark paper resembled a competitive examination for senior officials rather than a recruitment test for conductors.

The grievances reached the BEST committee on Wednesday, where BJP member Sunil Ganacharya raised the issue, saying numerous candidates had approached elected representatives after failing to secure the mandatory 50% passing mark.

The questions, aspirants claimed, veered into unfamiliar territory. One asked candidates to identify the correct synonym of “cogent” in a legal context. Another required them to interpret the idiom “tie the knot”.