For young aspirants competing for the information and mobility afforded by a fewer 100 authorities jobs, these revelations would beryllium further grounds of the likelihood being stacked against them.
Nov 16, 2024 02:00 IST First published on: Nov 16, 2024 astatine 04:00 IST
A minister’s nephew; the lad of the Legislative Council secretariat-in-charge; the lad and girl of the Department of Parliamentary Affairs-in-charge; the lad of a Deputy Lokayukta. These are immoderate of the candidates who were selected to capable administrative positions successful the Uttar Pradesh Assembly and Legislative Council aft astatine slightest 2 rounds of tests successful 2020-21. An Indian Express probe has revealed that a 5th of the 186 vacancies for which astir 2.5 lakh radical had applied went to relatives of officials, with astatine slightest 5 palmy candidates connected to owners of the 2 backstage firms that had conducted the recruitment test. For young aspirants competing for the information and mobility afforded by a fewer 100 authorities jobs, these revelations would beryllium further grounds of the likelihood being stacked against them.
As the Allahabad High Court observed connected September 18, 2023, erstwhile proceeding a plea by 3 unsuccessful candidates, the process is “not little than a recruitment scam”. The CBI probe it ordered was stayed by the Supreme Court, pursuing an entreaty by the Legislative Council, with the adjacent proceeding scheduled for January 6, 2025. Delays volition adhd to the anxiousness and vexation of the youth, astatine a clip erstwhile nationalist spot successful acquisition and recruitment exams is already low. Earlier this year, controversies implicit irregularities successful NEET and NET severely dented the credibility of the National Testing Agency, portion an probe by this paper successful February revealed 41 documented instances of insubstantial leaks successful recruitment exams, crossed 15 states successful 5 years, and affecting 1.4 crore occupation seekers. These instances, taken together, constituent to a deeper situation that needs urgent attention. At a clip erstwhile jobs that fig successful the specified hundreds pull lakhs of applications, it is each the much important that a level playing-field is ensured. When the integrity of specified a strategy is compromised, arsenic seen successful the NEET-NET episode, it tin beryllium highly dispiriting for young people, who person spent years preparing for an introspection that they judge volition alteration their lives for the better.
A probe into these irregularities indispensable beryllium conducted urgently, other the erosion of already diminishing nationalist spot successful the strategy volition not beryllium casual to overcome. Consider the protests this week against the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission’s determination to behaviour exams successful antithetic shifts and utilizing a normalisation strategy for valuation to obviate unfair vantage to candidates astatine immoderate 1 shift. Applicants alleged that these analyzable procedures would grow the scope for corruption of the process. Of course, the demand-supply mismatch is truthful ample that it is unfastened to changeless exploitation. For a state hoping to reap the dividend of a ample working-age population, expanding opportunities should beryllium apical priority.