Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday announced the cancellation of the 2024 JSSC-CGL examination following a 24-day student protest over alleged irregularities in the recruitment process.
The state government has also cancelled all competitive examinations conducted by agency TDPL. The decision was taken at a special Cabinet meeting chaired by Soren, following a four-and-a-half-hour discussion.
Addressing the media after the meeting, Soren said the decision to cancel the 14th JPSC PT and backlog civil service examinations had already been taken during earlier discussions with the protesting students.
The government has now ordered a comprehensive investigation into all recruitment examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) from 2014 onwards.
According to Soren, SIT and CID investigations into alleged irregularities in the JSSC-CGL examination uncovered several shocking facts, including alleged collusion between various agencies. In view of the findings, the government decided to cancel the examination.
The investigation will cover the entire recruitment process from 2014 to the present to identify those responsible for irregularities and take appropriate action.
The government has also constituted a committee headed by IAS officer Amitabh Kaushal to recommend reforms in the examination system. It has invited suggestions from the public through an online portal on measures to make competitive examinations more transparent and secure.
Soren said the new system would aim to eliminate the possibility of malpractice at every stage, including examination conduct, question paper security, the role of agencies, evaluation and declaration of results.
He said the government already has a Standard Operating Procedure for conducting competitive examinations and that strict implementation of the SOP could have prevented such irregularities. The SOP will now be strengthened with additional provisions.
During the 24-day protest, students held discussions with ministers and reached an agreement on several demands related to examination reforms. The government said these measures would now be implemented.
The cancellation of the JSSC-CGL examination is being seen as a major victory for the protesting students. However, the government has not yet taken a decision on their demand for a CBI investigation into the alleged irregularities.
