Exam crisis rocks nation: Jharkhand protests intensify; Chhattisgarh leak, UGC-NET AI row

NEW DELHI: Youth protests have intensified in Jharkhand after the High Court stayed the state government’s decision to cancel recruitments arising from the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission-Combined Graduate Level (JSSC-CGL) examination and the Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) recruitment. The High Court had on Thursday also stayed the government’s decision concerning recruitments arising from the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) Combined Civil Services examinations and the Food Safety Officer recruitment.

The government has been accused of failing to put forward strong arguments before the court, allegedly resulting in favourable orders for candidates who secured appointments through irregularities. The protesters had also alleged that the government opposed their being made parties to the case.
Justice Deepak Roshan passed the latest order on petitions filed by candidates, including those who had already entered government service.

Protesters took to the streets in Ranchi and other places and burned effigies of Chief Minister Hemant Soren. Security was tightened at the Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium in Ranchi amid concerns that students would resume their agitation. The district administration has prohibited protests at the stadium for 60 days.
Around 2,700 successful candidates affected by the cancellation of recruitments have been protesting against the government's decision, with JSSC-CGL candidates among those demonstrating outside the state Secretariat on Friday.

Meanwhile, a public interest litigation has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a CBI probe into allegations of irregularities in the Jharkhand Combined Civil Services Preliminary Examination. Social activist Harisharan Devgan is the petitioner.

Exam cancelled in Chhattisgarh

In BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh, the BSc Agriculture second-semester Entomology examination at Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya in Raipur was cancelled on Thursday following an alleged question-paper leak.
A question paper circulated on WhatsApp was found to have around 70 per cent of its questions matching those in the actual examination paper, following which the university cancelled the examination. The test is expected to be conducted again in the first week of September.

Police have launched an investigation and registered a case in connection with the alleged leak. Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said strict action would be taken against those responsible.
Students staged protests over the issue, while the NSUI and ABVP also held demonstrations.

AI controversy over UGC-NET papers

Meanwhile, allegations have emerged that artificial intelligence was used in preparing and translating some UGC-NET question papers. The National Testing Agency (NTA) has denied the allegation.

The UGC-NET examination was conducted in June and July. The English, Commerce and Sociology papers were ordered to be re-conducted after an expert committee identified significant factual, language and translation errors in the question papers.

The NTA has said candidates appearing for the re-examination in the affected subjects will not have to pay the examination fee again. It has also said that candidates would be refunded if errors in the answer key are established.