Huge Protest Against SSC After Alleged Paper Leak & Mass Cheating In CGL Tier-II Exam

Yet again, the Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level Examination (SSC CGL) is surrounded by controversies. This time, a lot more grievous than the earlier issue.

Since yesterday, students have taken to the streets of Delhi, protesting in thousands against what can only be construed by them as “mass cheating.”

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Alleged paper leak

SSC CGL 2017 examination began in August last year. The Tier-I examination was held between August 5 to August 24, 2017.

“The shifts that were held before August 15 were comparatively difficult due to which some of the students moved the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) and the case kept getting delayed thus, delaying the Tier- II exam,” said Rohit Tayal, an SSC CGL 2017 aspirant, to The Logical Indian.

“On October 31, SSC had announced the cut off as 131. After about a month and a half, the cut off was revised to 126.5, citing “technical glitch” and 40,000 more students were selected. I was one among them,” added Tayal.

The Tier-II exam was scheduled to start from February 17 and the CAT verdict was scheduled on February 15. “Two days prior to the exam, we weren’t even sure if it would be held,” said Tayal.

On February 15, the CAT dismissed the students’ case on grounds that the exam cannot be further delayed and on February 16, one day before Tier-II commenced, the date of the exam was confirmed.

Moreover, the additional 40,000 shortlisted students had only a month’s time to prepare for the examination. “We did all that we could in that one month. The papers were quite tough, but not something we could not cope with. The bigger issue was the question paper leak,” said Tayal.

“On February 21, we had our mathematics paper. Minutes prior to the exam, a Facebook page that exposes SSC scams revealed that the question paper with the answers was leaked.”

The page, SSCtube, claimed to have received images of answer keys from SSC students. The same was posted on its page, urging others to come forward if they too saw questions and answers being circulated before the exam took place.

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“The SSC again cited “technical glitch” and postponed the exam by two hours. The paper was supposed to be held at 10:30 am, but was held at 12:30 am,” said Tayal.

Even more outrageous was the fact that the exam was postponed after the students had answered questions for at least 15 minutes.

“Some of the students confirmed that the questions they answered in those 15 minutes were the same as those uploaded by SSCtube,” continued Tayal. “What could be the reason for SSC to postpone the exam? Maybe they knew that foul play was caught.”

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Suspicions of remotely controlled online exam

On February 23, the page made another post – an image of the candidate interface of one Sachin Chauhan. SSCtube alleged that some students might have taken the test from remote locations.

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“It is impossible that the pictures were clicked from within official centres because we are disallowed from taking anything inside the centre. Forget phones, we cannot even take pens in the exam halls,” said Tayal.

The SSC denied any foul play in the examination. The government body termed the snapshots emerging on social media “manipulated and having no significance on the sanctity of the examination.”

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The SSC also said that it investigated the allegations of February 21 and found that the claims were “baseless”.

“There appears to be a concerted attempt by some mischievous elements to defame the organisation,” said the staff selection commission in its notice.

The next day, on February 24, SSCtube made another post on the alleged case of “remote access” of the exam held on February 18.

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That same day, the SSC released a notice saying that the exam held on February 21 was delayed due to “technical reasons” and will be re-conducted on March 9, 2017.

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Student protest

Since yesterday, hundreds of students have come out to protest against the alleged scam outside CGO Complex, Delhi.

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Today, the students took permission from the police to carry out a march till Rashtrapati Bhavan.

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According to a few reports on social media, one of the protesting students was arrested near CGO Complex. It is also said that Section 144 (unlawful assembly) of CrPC was imposed and GTB Nagar, JLN and Delhi University metro stations were shut down.

SSC chairman Ashim Khurana released a notice today, saying that the protests are being “instigated and sponsored by two coaching institutes/ agencies with vested interests.”

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Earlier controversies surrounding SSC

This is not an isolated case of students expressing concerns over SSC examinations. The 10,661 students who had qualified SSC CGL 2016 exam are yet to be given jobs and are raising their voices against the same. SSC CHSL (Combined Higher Secondary) 2015 qualified candidates are also waiting to be placed. The students had taken out protests last month.

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The future of SSC candidates uncertain

When asked, an SSC candidate told The Logical Indian that he took the SSC CGL 2017 exam despite earlier controversies because of the “security” promised by government jobs. “Why work in a private firm where you can be dispensed at any moment? Government jobs are comfortable and ensure security,” he said.

Lakhs of students sit for various exams conducted by the staff selection commission, under the government of India, for recruitment in several central government departments. In his budget speech on February 1, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had promised 70 lakh jobs this year. How is the government planning to achieve this number when it cannot conduct fair tests is a mystery.

Students who have spent years preparing for an examination are disappointed in the end with rumours of foul play, red tape and nepotism. Their coming out on the streets in such huge numbers is a clear sign of their frustration.

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The Logical Indian community stands in solidarity with the SSC CGL 2017 aspirants. It is an issue we all need to be talking about, but Indian media has hardly covered the plight of the students. We hope that their protests do not go in vain and the SSC comes up with a solution to make restitution for the hindrances faced by the youth.