Student agitation forces Mizoram PSC to suspend recruitment

The Mizoram Public Service Commission (MPSC) has indefinitely postponed several ongoing recruitment processes following an agitation by an influential students' organisation over the functioning of the commission, officials said on Tuesday.

Members of Mizo Zirlai Pawl (ZPM) have been picketing outside the commission office since Monday, preventing staffers from entering the premises. The agitation entered its second day on Tuesday.

In a notification, the MPSC said the disruption at its office has forced it to temporarily suspend various recruitment-related activities and defer some previously scheduled programmes.

It said that examinations for Group C posts under various departments are likely to be affected as question papers prepared by the MPSC could not be distributed under the prevailing situation.

The departments concerned have been asked to await further instructions regarding the distribution of question papers, while those that had made arrangements to use MPSC examination halls for their recruitment examinations have been advised to make alternative arrangements, the commission said.

The MPSC said that personal interviews for the posts of assistant audit and accounts officer, assistant accounts officer (treasury), assistant accounts officer (works) under the Finance Department and field facilitator under the Social Welfare, Women and Child Development Department have been deferred indefinitely.

All written examinations and personal interviews scheduled between August 11 and 14 have also been postponed as they cannot be held as scheduled, it said.

Fresh dates for the examinations and interviews will be announced depending on the prevailing situation, the commission added.

The MPSC also said departmental promotion committee (DPC) meetings scheduled for promotion, regularisation and confirmation of employees under various government departments have been temporarily deferred.

The MZP has demanded structural reforms and additional manpower to strengthen the commission and improve its efficiency and credibility.

It alleged that repeated administrative shortcomings in recent recruitments had undermined the confidence of job seekers and raised concerns over the one-time registration (OTR) system.

The organisation demanded that the existing OTR system be scrapped and replaced with need-based, post-specific application forms.

It also sought a one-time opportunity for candidates rejected over incomplete OTR document uploads to submit the required documents offline, particularly those who had cleared written examinations but were subsequently disqualified during document verification.

The MPSC, however, rejected the MZP's demands, including discontinuation of OTR system, saying such a move would create fresh complications for job aspirants and undermine a uniform recruitment process.

It claimed that the OTR mechanism was introduced to streamline the recruitment process and ensure fairness and equality in public employment.

Expressing "serious concern" over the continuation of the protest from Monday, the commission, in a statement, said that the disruption was affecting candidates appearing for personal interviews and written examinations and could delay promotions of government officers.

As regards opening a special window for candidates, whose applications had been rejected for missing documents, to submit the required documents offline, the commission said such an arrangement would violate the principle of equal treatment because candidates who had submitted complete applications within the prescribed period would be placed at a disadvantage.

It maintained that candidates could be rejected at any stage if their applications were incomplete, irrespective of their performance in the written examination.

Acknowledging the difficulties faced by candidates, the MPSC said that it had already taken steps to improve scrutiny of applications at the initial stage and had requested additional manpower from higher authorities so that documents could be thoroughly checked when applications were first submitted.

Citing that efforts were continuing to improve the online recruitment portal, the MPSC also urged the student body to end the agitation and restriction on employees entering its office.