More than 73% of candidates registered for the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission’s Field Worker Recruitment Examination could not appear for the test. Several aspirants alleging that delayed email alerts and centres situated hundreds of kilometres away prevented them from attending, as per a report by The Indian Express.
The examination for 510 Field Worker posts was conducted on July 19, nearly two years after the recruitment was advertised in 2024. Out of the 3,22,867 registered candidates, only 86,444 or about 26.8% have taken up the examination. This means 2,36,423 candidates or around 73.2% have missed the paper.
Why did more than 73% of candidates miss the examination?
Several candidates from Jharkhand and Bihar alleged that they got the email alerts related to their admit cards either on the examination day or after the test was held. Others said they came to know about their centres only after checking the JSSC website a few days before the examination.
Candidates also complained that centres were allotted hundreds of kilometres from their residence, leaving them with limited time to arrange transport, accommodation and money.
Lipika Mahapatra, 26, from Baharagora in East Singhbhum was allotted a centre in Hazaribagh, more than 300 km away. She stated to The Indian Express that arranging travel and accommodation at such short notice was ‘simply not possible in three to four days.” Mahapatra said the email alert about her admit card arrived on July 20, after the examination.
Rupesh Kumar, 22, from Sahibganj, said his allotted centre was in Gumla, about 550 km away. He also claimed the email about this admit card reached him around noon on July 19, after the examination had started.
Another aspirant, Ganesh Kumar Sonkar from Hazaribagh, said he could not afford to travel to his assigned centre in Deoghar at short notice. He stated that he did not receive any email and found out the centre details by checking the commission’s website.
What has JSCC said?
JSSC Secretary Sudhir Gupta mentioned the city-intimation slips, admit cards and other examination related links had been upload on the commission’s website before the test.
“Everything was available on the website. Candidates could access the city intimation slip and download their admit cards from there, Gupta told The Indian Express.
Mayank Patel, who manages an online coaching platform for government job aspirants, said candidates should regularly check the official website. However, he argued that not every applicant could track a vacancy that was advertised two years earlier on a regular basis. He termed the high absence rate a “systematic failure”.
Meanwhile, JPSC postpones Civil Services Main Examination
In a separate development, the Jharkhand Public Service Commission postponed its Combined Civil Services Main Examination, which was slated to take place from July 25 to July 27. The commission cited “unavoidable circumstances” and said the examination had been deferred until further orders.
The CID also arrested five people, including JPSC Deputy Controller of Examinations Shweta Kumari Gupta, on July 22 for their alleged involvement in irregularities in competitive examinations conducted by the commission. The arrests followed searches at the JPSC office and other locations, as reported by PTI.
The BJP has demanded a CBI investigation into disputed recruitment examinations. The state Congress, meanwhile, has said that a CID investigation is already underway.
