By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 15: The KSU on Friday sought immediate intervention from Health Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh in the recruitment process for group B and C posts in NEIGRIHMS.
In a letter to the minister, KSU general secretary Donald V Thabah said the local candidates were allotted examination centres in far-flung areas outside Meghalaya.
“Your response on the above matter shall be highly appreciated by the union and the domiciles of the state,” he said.
The KSU could not hand over the letter to Lyngdoh as she was away.
Thabah said he had a telephone conversation with the health minister, who assured the union to take up the matter with Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma in New Delhi on Saturday. She also said she would try to meet the officials of the Union Health Ministry to request that all local candidates should be allotted centres within the state.
“The KSU will also take up the matter with the CM,” he said.
In another letter addressed to Nalin Mehta, the director of NEIGRIHMS, Thabah said the union would like to draw his attention to the anomalies regarding the direct recruitment for Group B and C posts in the institution. The director was also reminded of a meeting with KSU leaders on December 6.
“As per the information conveyed by you verbally, a certain agency named HLL was tasked with conducting the examinations for the aforementioned recruitment. Furthermore, the union leaders were informed that four locations were selected as examination centres – Shillong, Guwahati, Jorhat, and Delhi,” Thabah said.
He said that HLL was selected based on its competency and fulfilment of the required criteria to conduct the examinations. “However, to our dismay, we were informed by aggrieved candidates that another centre, Dibrugarh was allotted to numerous local candidates for the examinations to be held on December 17 and 18,” he added.
It was also learnt that the candidates were allowed to select a centre from Shillong, Guwahati, and New Delhi, he said. “Most of the local candidates opted for Shillong as first preference and Guwahati as the second one, but to their disappointment, they were allotted either Jorhat or Delhi as their centres,” he said.
Allotting wrong centres exhibited the inefficiency and negligence of the agency while affecting the prospects of many local candidates, he said.
“We would like to remind once again that most citizens of the state come from economically weaker sections of society, and this will be a hurdle in their aspirations as it involves huge expenditure in terms of transport and lodging,” Thabah said.
This issue should be resolved at the earliest taking into account the urgency of the matter, he said.
“We would once again like to remind you of your commitment to survey the computer centres located in Shillong for conducting the CBT system examinations. Your immediate and positive response on these issues will be highly appreciated,” he said.