By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: A major controversy has emerged over the written test conducted by the Directorate of Information and Public Relation (DIPR) for the post of editor, content manager/producer, sound assistant and translators (Khasi and Garo) after it was found that the answer sheets of the written test were being corrected by grade III and IV staff of the department who are neither competent in journalism nor do they have the authority to check the answer sheets.
The written test was held at the Shillong Public School, Laitumkhrah on Saturday. The personal interview is supposed to be held on Monday.
There are allegations that the department is in a hurry to complete the appointment process thus prompting DIPR officials to assign their grade III and IV staff to check the answer sheets despite not having the capability to scrutinize the answer sheets of the candidates who have applied for the various posts.
In fact some news persons even clicked photographs of the grade III and IV staff of the department while they were correcting the answer sheets.
Interestingly, none of the senior officials of the department including the Director, Deputy Director or the Assistant Director were found present when such an important exercise was being carried out.
It may be added, that an advertisement had appeared in local newspapers on April 18 seeking applications to the various vacant posts on contractual basis for a period of one year which may be extended. Salaries range from Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000 per month.
The advertisement attracted hundreds of young and qualified boys and girls who appeared for the written examination on Saturday, while their papers were found to have been corrected the same evening by the lower ranked staff in the office of the Directorate.
Official sources said that the Department should have engaged professionals to scrutinize the answer sheets.
“Asking the lower ranked staff to correct the papers is a clear indication that they are just trying to complete the formalities. There are possibilities that people may have been already appointed for the various posts,” the sources said on Sunday.
Sources in the DIPR also informed that there was no one to check the sound assistant component and test the candidates as no one in the Department was qualified to do so.
Selected candidates would be incorporated in the DIPR unit of the Meghalaya Information Collaboration System (MICS), a Rs 5-crore which would employ a wireless mass notification system to disseminate information to the people and at the same time receive grievances for forwarding to the concerned departments.
