PRAYAGRAJ, Sept. 5 -- Online application process for recruitment of 1,253 assistant professors in government degree colleges spread across the state began on Thursday. The Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) has started such an exercise after a five-year gap, said officials in the know of things. In accordance with the advertisement issued by UPPSC secretary Ashok Kumar, the last date to submit the online application and pay examination fee is October 6. The final date for correcting errors in the applications and resolving any payment-related issues is October 13. Applicants must be between 21 and 40 years of age as on July 1. The advertisement, released on Thursday, includes details of the application process, fee submission, examination scheme, syllabus, and other important instructions, Kumar said. The last recruitment drive for assistant professors of government degree colleges in UP was conducted in 2020, when 128 posts were advertised. The 2025 recruitment features a bumper number of vacancies as the state government has set up 46 new government degree colleges this year. The approved posts for these newly created colleges have also been included, resulting in a record number of openings, the officials shared. Of the 1,253 advertised posts across 28 subjects, the highest number of vacancies-157-are in commerce. This is followed by English with 92 posts, chemistry and Hindi 87 each, botany, zoology, and mathematics 79 each, sociology 78, economics 61, physics 60, physical education 59, history 58, political science 57 while Sanskrit has 56 posts. The least number of posts are in computer science and Persian, with just one vacancy each, besides statistics and military science (defence studies) with two posts each. This time the number of vacancies is 10 times more as compared to the last recruitment held in 2020. The selection process this time will comprise three stages. For the first time, the commission has decided to conduct the recruitment based on a preliminary exam followed by main exam and interview, changing the earlier pattern where selection was based only on prelims and interview. The two-hour preliminary exam will carry 150 marks, featuring 120 objective-type questions. These will include 30 questions on general studies and 90 questions on the candidate's chosen subject, except mathematics which will have 70 questions. The preliminary exam will also have negative marking. The three-hour main exam will consist of 20 questions worth 200 marks. Candidates must answer 10 short-answer questions (each worth 8 marks) within a total limit of 125 words per answer and 10 long-answer questions (each worth 12 marks) in up to 200 words. This will be followed by a 25-mark interview. The final merit list will be prepared based on marks obtained in the main exam and the interview....