SSC announces exam reforms, assures fairness after protest

The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) has announced a series of reforms to strengthen transparency, fairness, and exam security, following protests by aspirants demanding accountability in the recruitment process.

According to an official government press brief, the SSC has introduced Aadhaar-based authentication to prevent impersonation and multiple exam attempts, while IT security has been entrusted to a specialised agency to prevent hacking and malpractice.

The commission said questions were delivered through a digital vault, and strict action was being taken against errant exam centres and candidates.

The SSC has reduced the question challenge fee from Rs 100 to Rs 50 per question, and launched a feedback and grievance portal along with a toll-free helpline number (1800-309-3063).

The commission has decided to publish some previous-year question papers as official sample sets at appropriate intervals to help aspirants prepare effectively.

On the Combined Graduate Level Examination (CGLE), the SSC said about 28 lakh candidates had applied, and 13.5 lakh appeared across 255 centres in 126 cities and 45 shifts.

“Certain candidates at select centres will be asked to appear for re-exam on October 14, owing to technical reasons/issues,” it said.

Clarifying doubts over question paper access, the commission said candidates could view, store, and print their papers for reference.

Restrictions, it said, were imposed only “to ensure that sharing of question papers during ongoing multi-shift exam does not adversely impact candidates in earlier shifts, and to avoid misuse.”

Reaffirming its stance, the commission said: “The SSC remains fully committed to transparency, fairness, and integrity of its examinations”, while appealing to aspirants “not to be misled by motivated campaigns”.

The protest by SSC aspirants was held at Ramlila Maidan, Delhi, on August 24 under the banner of the Chatra Maha Andolan.

Around 1,500 aspirants participated, alleging exam mismanagement, flawed answer keys, incorrect and repeated questions, delayed merit lists, and technical glitches.

Protesters also demanded the reinstatement of TCS as the exam agency and the removal of blacklisted firms. The protest was permitted between 10 am and 5 pm, but around 300 participants stayed beyond the allowed time, leading to police detaining about 40 persons.

Authorities said no lathi charge was done, though an FIR under Section 223 B of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered after permission was withdrawn.