Ankit Shrivastava was 24 years old when he applied for the SSC examination,  he is 26 years old now. Two years have passed and there is no end to his plight.  However,

“Even after two years, I and thousands of other candidates are waiting for jobs,” Ankit, a Staff Selection Commission’s Combined Graduate Level (SSC CGL) Examination 2017 candidate says. He left his lucrative career in Wipro to prepare for the exam.

In his second attempt at the SSC CGL examination, even as he did manage to get an exceptional score, his future career prospects seem to be dangling the air of uncertainty.

After a long-drawn battle, SSC CGL 2017 candidates breathed a sigh of relief in May this year after the Apex Court asked SSC to declare the result. The SSC CGL 2017 exam has been shrouded in controversy right from the time examination was being held.          

However, the problems for the candidates seem to be far from over as they now claim that SSC is withholding vacancies and putting their future in jeopardy.

“SSC Reduced Vacancies”

On the basis of the RTI response received, it is understood that across departments and across zones, the vacancies have been reduced. The RTI responses show that different departments reported 3,756 vacancies to SSC.

On the basis of RTI responses received, SSC candidates say there were 3082 vacancies for the post of an auditor in the Comptroller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA). The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) department reported 100 vacancies for the Assitant Account Officer post and 500 vacancies for the Accountant position. Similarly, the Ministry of Statistical and Program Implementation reported 74 vacancies for Junior Statistical Officers.

The candidates claim that SSC, despite these many vacancies reported across departments, did not call for filling up seats.

There were multiple reasons given by the commission on this. They said that the concerned departments failed in reporting about the vacancy in the given time slot. Further, the RTI reply said that the difference between the initially reported vacancy in the departments and the one which finally came was too high to be considered.

“A lot of vacancies are lying vacant in these departments. It is would be a win-win situation for both the government and us, the candidates if they fill these vacancies. However, that is not happening,” Ankit laments.

He further says that for the 2016 SSC CGL exam, they reported vacancies were 10,000, however, for the 2017 exam, it has reduced to around 8,000 odd seats.

“We are in great distress. About 4000 candidates’ future is at stake. First, it was delay due to reported malpractices in exams and when that was finally resolved a year later, we have suffered another blow,” says Ankit.

SSC CGL 2017 Crisis: Chronology Of Events

August 2017: Tier 1 (SSC CGL & CSHL) Examination

August 2017: Allegations of paper leaks

17/02/18: Tier 2 Examination

09/03/18: A re-examination of tier-2

08/07/18: Tier 3 Examination

31/08/18: Apex Court issues stay order on the announcement of results

09/05/19: Apex Court lifts stay order from the announcement of results

Between 31 August 2018 and 09 May 2019, there were a series of hearings. Here’s a timeline:

May 9, 2019: Supreme Court asks SSC to declare SSC CGL exam 2017 result

Also Read: Victory For Students As Apex Court Asks SSC To Declare 2017 Result