Aspirants take to streets, request exam cancellation

Bhubaneswar: Alleging irregularities and lack of transparency in recruitment of district cadre posts recently conducted by Odisha Sub-ordinate Staff Selection Commission (OSSSC), of hundreds of aspirants took to the streets in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack demanding cancellation of the examinations.

The OSSSC recruitment examination, which started on September 20, will continue until October 20 to fill 2,895 posts of Revenue Inspector (RI), ICDS supervisors, ARI, Amin and SFS.

In Cuttack, aspiring candidates held a huge rally from Netaji Subash Chandra Bose Bus Terminal towards the Collector’s office to submit a memorandum, alleging that the exams were conducted by black-listed firm and lacked transparency.

“My exam is on October 7. But the controversy over the conduct of the exam has now affected my confidence to take the test. If black-listed firms conduct these exams and candidates are emerging successful through scraps, what is the point of working hard to crack the test?,” asked one aspirant.

“We got to know that many centers are asking candidates to give Rs 20 lakh to clear the prelims.Where is merit in these exams? And more, exams are being conducted in cyber cafes and cement godowns!! Over five and half lakh candidates are taking the exams. Aren’t their careers at stake? Some are claiming that they can clear the test just by moving the computer mouse. Is this a joke? Who is responsible for all this? Why is the government not acting on streamlining the conduct of such exams?,” claimed another agitator.

A similar scene played out in Bhubaneswar where agitating candidates protested outside State Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj’s residence alleging irregularities in OSSSC’s district cadre recruitment for Revenue Inspectors and other posts. They demanded that the exams be canceled and conducted again offline instead of online mode.

On September 30, tension had flared in Nayapalli area in Bhubaneswar after scores of aspirants created a ruckus over the conduct of the examination at a cyber café.