Uproar over PPSC exam delays, cheating
Ravneet Singh
Patiala, December 30
The year 2022 witnessed uproar among candidates who appeared for various exams conducted by the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC). An alleged high-tech cheating scandal in the naib tehsildar recruitment exam raised questions on the PPSC working. The government and the agency responsible for recruitment of officers has taken a few corrective measures.
Corrective measures
- The government has taken a few corrective measures, including use of jammers, at the exam centres
- The PPSC started using jammers from November 6
- The commission also decided to implement biometric authentication to verify candidates’ identity on real-time basis
The aspirants have flayed the PPSC over delay in conducting exams and releasing of results. The commission took more than six years to release the result of Joint Director in the Department of Information and Public Relations. The advertisement was issued in October 2016 and the exam was conducted in February 2020, but the result was declared in December 2022. The PPSC had issued the notification for recruitment of 78 naib tehsildars in December 2020 and conducted the exam in May and released the results in October.
Among others, the PPSC has yet not conducted exams to recruit 78 senior assistants at the Public Works Department and 19 assistant town planners at the Department of Town and Country Planning, advertisements for which were issued more than five months ago.
Alleging delays, a number of aspirants filed court cases against the PPSC this year. The commotion around recruitment of 78 naib tehsildars kept the commission in the limelight for the most part of the year. A petition was filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court in May over the PPSC’s failure in preparing the question paper in two languages, including Punjabi.
In October, the aspirants levied allegations of mass cheating with the use of high-tech electronic devices. Later, the results came under the scanner of the Vigilance Bureau. The police have arrested over 10 aspirants and their associates so far. As of date, the naib tehsildar exam remains under scrutiny.
The aspirants for the posts of deputy district attorneys also expressed apprehension of tampering of the recruitment exam and sought its postponement in the court. Later, the PPSC assured use of jammers for conducting the exam. The court cases have been also filed in relation to other exams, including recruitment of 34 functional managers.
