The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) examinations hold a decisive opportunity. Millions of youth aspire for a government job through these exams. This year, however, the recruitment exercise has been marred by canceled sessions. Technical glitches have contributed to the problem. As a result, angry students and teachers have taken to the streets of New Delhi.
On Sunday night (August 24), more than a thousand aspirants and teachers gathered at the Ramlila Maidan in the capital. Over 40 protesters were detained by the police. Last month, a similar protest was held at Jantar Mantar.
Latest fiasco in SSC exam?
The trigger for the current uproar was the SSC Selection Post Phase-13 examination, held from July 24 to August 1. This computer-based exam aimed at filling various Group C posts. Roughly 5 lakh candidates registered. It was conducted across 194 centers in 142 cities.
Apirants reported widespread disruptions and irregularities during the exam.
Some said they had travelled all the way to the exam centres. Upon arrival, they found the exam had been cancelled with no notice. The Phase-13 exam was supposed to conclude by August 1. However, it had to be extended to August 2. This was done to accommodate some of these candidates. Attendance in the rescheduled sessions was low. Around 60% turnout was observed as many candidates either didn’t receive communication in time or couldn’t travel again.
Technical Failures
Those exams that did take place were marred by technical failures and administrative lapses, aspirants said. Students across centres reported that computer systems froze or crashed mid-exam, login sessions wouldn’t start, and servers went down repeatedly.
At some venues, the biometric verification systems (used to ensure candidate identity) malfunctioned, preventing legitimate candidates from logging in. There were complaints of screens going blank, and insufficient backup systems to recover lost time. In many locations, staff appeared untrained to handle these problems, the students said.
Admit cards (hall tickets) posed another issue. SSC rules state that admit cards are typically released four days before the exam. However, many Phase-13 candidates alleged they hadn’t received their admit card even two days before the test date. This delay left them in panic.
Aspirants usually list preferred cities. The SSC tries to assign nearby centers. This time, some got centres in completely different regions. This year, the SSC changed its exam-conducting agency. It switched from the well-known IT firm TCS to a company called Eduquity Career Technologies. Aspirants alleged that Eduquity was ill-prepared for handling an exam of this scale. Its involvement has been at the center of the storm.
How have the protests unfolded?
What began as scattered complaints online quickly escalated into widespread protests by SSC aspirants across the country. In the last week of July and early August, students took to the streets. Some teachers, who run coaching classes for these exams, joined them to demand accountability. The epicenter was Delhi, which is home to the SSC’s headquarters. Demonstrations were also reported in multiple cities, including Patna, Jaipur, Lucknow, and others.
In Delhi, the aggrieved candidates initially assembled at Jantar Mantar, a designated protest site, on July 31 and August 1. The organisers dubbed this gathering a “‘Delhi Chalo’ campaign.” It drew hundreds of aspirants and popular educators from different states. They raised slogans and held placards: “SSC System Sudharo” (Fix the SSC system) and “Justice for Aspirants” became rallying cries. Protesters demanded a thorough probe into what they called “#SSCMisManagement”.
Notably, influential teachers who have large followings among SSC aspirants played a role in mobilising students. For instance, Neetu Singh, a well-known English trainer, was present on the frontlines in Delhi.
Teachers come out in support
“We know students have been facing problems for many years and exams are not being conducted fairly…The first clash broke out near North Block, where many educators and teachers were picked up and forced into police buses… On July 31, there was a lathicharge and I was taken to Bawana police station…,” said Aditya Ranjan (29), a maths teacher from Rankers Gurukul, who was detained by the Delhi Police in the July protests.
Tensions escalated on August 1 when protestors decided to march towards the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) office at North Block (which oversees the SSC). Police had cordoned off certain areas, and as the crowd moved, clashes broke out. According to protestors, police personnel tried to disperse the gathering and allegedly resorted to a lathi-charge (baton charge) on sections of the crowd. Some protesters were dragged into buses and detained when they insisted on marching beyond permitted zones.
The Delhi Police had meanwhile, denied any manhandling.
About the Ramlila Maidan protest on Sunday, the Delhi Police in its statement said “Around 1500 protestors gathered at Ramlila. Of which about 100 denied to leave after the permitted times despite multiple requests and intimations. Those who were not leaving 44 of the protestors were detained. Others left.”
How has the government responded?
Jitendra Singh is the Union Minister of State for Personnel (DoPT). This department oversees the SSC. He negotiated with the protest leaders. He assured that students who faced disruptions at the exam centre would have a chance to re-appear for the test. Government also announced a candidate-friendly move regarding answer key challenges. Normally, when results are released, students can challenge a question. They can also challenge an answer by paying a fee of Rs 100 per question. Singh promised that if a student’s challenge is found to be correct, the fee will be refunded.
S Gopalakrishnan, the Chairman of the Staff Selection Commission, admitted to “mismanagement” on the SSC’s part. This admission was regarding the conduct of the Phase-13 exam. He cited “computer system failures, mouse malfunctions, and the allocation of distant exam centres” as problems that had occurred.
Gopalakrishnan said the SSC had “taken cognizance” of the issues and was working to fix responsibility. “We have collected data of instances of malpractices,” he.
Facing questions on the choice of a new vendor, Gopalakrishnan explained why Eduquity was selected. He stated that Eduquity won the contract through a lawful tender process. The company’s bid scored slightly lower on technical parameters. However, it was “significantly lower” in cost. Overall, Eduquity emerged as the winner.
The SSC has now announced a re-exam on August 29. This affects around 59,500 candidates. They were unable to take the Phase-13 test due to cancellations.
Have such disruptions occurred earlier?
One of the most serious past episodes was the 2018 SSC CGL paper leak scandal. In February 2018, snapshots of the SSC CGL (Tier II) exam question paper appeared on social media. Answers were also shared online. This suggested that the paper had been leaked to some candidates. This triggered outrage and protests.
On March 4, 2018, the government ordered a CBI probe into the SSC paper leak cases. Eventually, the Supreme Court was also seized of the matter, and the CGL 2018 exam got delayed.
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