New Delhi: The entire selection process for the posts of section officer (SO) and assistant section officer (ASO) in the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems to have become riddled with massive rigging and irregularities.
Police in various states are already investigating the first stage of the examination for this recruitment. Now, a hoard of allegations regarding mismanagement and irregularities in the conduct of the Phase-2 examination, held in the major metro cities of the country on July 7, has surfaced.
The Wire Hindi‘s investigation has revealed that candidates had carried mobile phones and other electronic devices inside many examination centres and were openly recording videos.
There was a lot of noise and commotion at these centres, which appeared so crowded that an atmosphere of mass cheating was evident. The supervisors and other employees of the examination centre were also nowhere to be seen.
Looking at the photographs and videos that have surfaced on social media, these exam centres were not reminiscent of those where the recruitment examination for a major scientific institution of the Union government normally take place.
Photo: Screenshots from video.
It is claimed that the situation got so out of hand at some examination centres that the police had to be called while the CSIR, which has been denying allegations of rigging in its recruitment examination, was also compelled to issue a notice after the second phase.
The notice issued by the deputy secretary of the CSIR on July 9 states:
“After the Computer Proficiency Test (CPT) was over, CSIR has received grievances from some candidates regarding technical glitches at some centres, uploading of files, taking printouts of uploaded files, etc. at a few centres. CSIR is looking into all these aspects of the CPT and after examining these grievances the decision will be communicated to the candidates through Web Notice in due course.”
However, the CSIR has ignored the fact that this exam was conducted by a Gujarat company, the Ahmedabad-based EduTest Solutions Private Limited, that has been blacklisted by the Uttar Pradesh government.
In other words, the CSIR continued to take the company’s services despite the UP government blacklisting it, and despite the first phase of the exam facing several probes.
The Wire Hindi has probed this Gujarat company and its links with the BJP. In our first instalment, we reported that EduTest founder Sureshchandra Arya is the president of a Hindu organisation and PM Modi is a regular attendee at his programs. The company’s managing director Vineet Arya has been jailed in a paper leak case, yet the company continues to bag contracts for exams from BJP governments.
In the second instalment of this series, it was reported that there were allegations of large-scale rigging in the CSIR Phase-1 exam conducted by EduTest and several FIRs were registered. The names of candidates who were in jail on charges of cheating appeared in the list of candidates who had cleared the exam. This matter is currently being heard in the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT).
Here’s our third instalment on the Phase-2 exam.
Also read | Paper Leak Row: Gujarat-Based Firm Blacklisted by Yogi Govt Handling Centre’s Recruitment Exam
What happened during the Phase-2 exam?
On July 7, the second phase exam was conducted at 33 centres in ten cities across the country – Delhi, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Lucknow, Pune, Bhopal, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and Guwahati. The exam was to be held in two shifts – for the descriptive paper and the Computer Proficiency Test (CPT) respectively. Only those candidates were allowed to sit in the second phase exam who had passed the first phase exam.
Vinayak Digital Zone in Ghazipur was one of the examination centres in Delhi. A candidate from Jaipur who appeared for the exam here told The Wire Hindi: “The descriptive paper was to start at 10 am, but it started at 11:40 am. We registered our protest and refused to take the exam. We wanted to leave the examination centre but the policemen did not allow us to go out. The owner of the centre was yelling saying there was no problem from her side and that she did not know why the CSIR people did not give them the paper.”
The candidate further said: “CPT was supposed to start at 3 pm, but it started at 4 pm. Most of the servers were not functioning. The mouses and keyboards of some computers were not working. The software was in a pathetic condition. Then, the file was also not getting uploaded. At the end of the exam, the candidates needed to put their signature, which also failed to happen. Candidates were also unable to take a printout of the CPT.”
The candidate alleged that after the time to take the exam had ended, some people started helping a female candidate who hadn’t finished the exam, which can also be seen in a video of the incident.
Another candidate who appeared for the exam at the same centre confirmed that the paper was not handed out at 10 am. “The owner of the centre was blaming the CSIR, while the CSIR’s people were saying it was the exam centre’s fault.”
Vinayak Digital Zone. Photo: Ankit Raj/The Wire.
The Wire Hindi spoke to the owner of the centre, Ritu Singh. She said, “If there was any problem at our centre, it would have happened only at our centre. But candidates have faced problems at almost every centre in the country. The server room of the lab where everything is controlled was sealed [by the CSIR] a day before [and taken under its control].”
Ritu further said: “The exam was to start at 10 am. The CSIR’s people did not even know what the seating arrangement was. They were making the seating arrangements as per their wish, which had already miffed the students. At 10:30, the students asked me to hand them the paper. I told them that it was not in my control and they should talk to the company [conducting the test] and the CSIR’s people.
“Then, some students reached the server room and got its gate opened. When the gate opened, we were told that the paper will be handed when they get orders from above. The students became very angry. At 11:40, I intervened and got the exam started.
“Some candidates were known to the CSIR’s people, with whom they were holding discussions,” she added. “I asked them if they were acquainted. They said yes, but when I told them that discussions were not allowed at the centre, they told me not to interfere.”
After the ruckus increased, Ritu called the police. She said, “The CSIR’s people were abusing the students. Later, witnessing the situation getting worse, they locked themselves in the server room.”
यह किसी बाबा का भंडारा नहीं CSIR SO/ASO ka Stage 2 Exam है। समय पूरा होने के बाद भी पोर्टल दोबारा खोल कर आंसर अपलोड कराये जा रहे है। Blacklisted कंपनी “Edutest” द्वारा करायी गई है परीक्षा। pic.twitter.com/P8Gm2R5omD
— Ajay Maurya (@AjaydMaurya) July 9, 2024
The chaos was not limited to this centre.
Shubham Mishra, who appeared for the Phase-2 exam at the Rajat Women College Institute of Computer Science in Lucknow, told The Wire Hindi, “The CPT was scheduled to be held from 3 pm to 4 pm. During this time, the candidates had to upload all their files. As per the rule, those who could not submit their files during this time would not be allowed to do so later. But at our centre, some candidates were given the chance to submit their files even after the time was up.
“Moreover, the software used by EduTest to conduct this exam was not secure at all. Candidates could [access] the entire computer. In other CPT exams, candidates can only do the work that is prescribed. In the computer that was given to us, anyone could cheat by inserting a pen drive in it.”
The same situation was witnessed in Pune as well.
A candidate who appeared for the exam at Pune’s Nutan College of Engineering and Research told The Wire Hindi, “The descriptive paper started with a delay of 15 minutes. Candidates were allowed to enter the centre even after closing time. Also, six PWD (persons with disability) candidates were made to sit with their scribe among the non-PWD candidates. The concentration of other candidates was getting disturbed due to this, and the PWD candidates were also feeling uncomfortable. The seats of many candidates were not in the room even though their name was mentioned on the slip outside the room.”
This female candidate confirmed the glitch in the CPT at the centre and said, “When many candidates were unable to upload files in the prescribed time, the server was bypassed. Candidates were given a code so that they could upload files even after the exam was over. We have never experienced this in any other CPT. Once the time is up, one cannot do anything. Bypassing the server is a serious matter.”
“After talking to other candidates, we have come to know that the server was bypassed at other places as well … It did not feel like we were giving a grade-A exam,” she said.
The file upload window for the CPT.
There are reports of mismanagement during the exam in Chandigarh’s Kharar area as well. When candidates started protesting at a centre there, the police had to be called.
A candidate who appeared for the exam at Chandigarh University (centre code 1203) has given a written complaint to the centre coordinator of the CSIR. It states, “The CPT started late. The keyboard was not working properly. Even after completing the CPT, the file was not uploaded.”
This complaint has also been received by the CSIR’s centre coordinator Chitram Singh.
Candidates had to face similar problems at a centre in Chennai as well.
A candidate from Chennai shared his experience of taking the Phase-2 exam and said that despite the CSIR having three labs in Chennai, the exam was held 35 kilometres away in Padappai, and admit cards arrived only three days before the exam. This means the candidates came to know about the centre only 72 hours prior to the exam.
He alleged, “There was no seating plan at the exam centre. Anyone could sit anywhere as per their wish. One could even sit next to their friend.”
“The answer sheets were not seized on time,” he further added. “The examiners were sluggish and started collecting the answer sheets much after the time was up.”
“During the CPT exam, many candidates faced technical problems,” he said. “When their computers kept shutting down, they were given other computers in the middle of the exam.
“The CSIR and the private company responsible for conducting the exam should be held accountable for this massive failure,” he said.
The Wire Hindi called CSIR’s senior deputy secretary Laxman Singh Negi’s office several times to seek his comment on this entire issue. But each time we were told to “call later” as he was in a meeting. A list of questions has been sent to Negi’s official email, but no response has been received yet.
