governor-orders-probe-into-jpsc-exam-irregularities

Jharkhand Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar has ordered a thorough investigation into complaints of irregularities in Jharkhand’s 11th, 12th, and 13th civil service examinations.

 

An Under Secretary of the Jharkhand Raj Bhavan has sent a letter to the Chairman of the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC), instructing them to investigate the matter and take necessary action as per the rules.

 

Former Chief Minister Raghubar Das had recently met the Governor at Raj Bhavan, where he lodged a complaint regarding serious irregularities in the examinations and demanded a high-level inquiry.

 

Similarly, on behalf of the candidates, several individuals submitted a memorandum to the Governor, raising concerns about the transparency of the examination process.

 

It has been alleged in the memorandum that the evaluation of answer sheets was conducted digitally, whereas the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) prescribed by the Commission includes a provision for showing the evaluated answer sheets to the candidates.

 

This process was not feasible under digital evaluation, which deprived the candidates of the opportunity to verify their answer sheets.

 

Candidates have also claimed that the evaluation was carried out by contract-based and unqualified teachers.

 

According to the rules, only teachers with at least ten years of university-level experience or five years of postgraduate teaching experience are eligible to evaluate the answer sheets. 

 

However, the Commission allegedly ignored these norms and assigned the task to contract teachers.

 

The memorandum further states that a third-party agency was involved in the examination process, compromising the confidentiality of the examination. Moreover, this agency was not selected through a proper tender process, which constitutes a violation of government procedures.

 

Candidates have also alleged that in August–September 2024, hundreds of them received phone calls in which the callers demanded money in exchange for increased marks.

 

These callers reportedly had access to confidential details such as roll numbers, Aadhaar numbers, academic records, and even examination centre information. An FIR has also been lodged in this regard at the Nirsa police station in Ranchi.