By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Aug 29: The VPP on Thursday came down heavily on the state government over allegations of nepotism and irregularities in the Meghalaya Public Services Commission (MPSC).
Moving the call attention motion in the Assembly, VPP’s Nongkrem MLA Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit said the decision of the Commission to declare the results of the MCS (Preliminary) examination twice and that too after a gap of seven months further erodes its credibility.
“It also shows the unfairness on the part of the Commission to cater to the demand of the particular candidate to change the result which is unprecedented. This is a hot topic these days and that is why, the job seekers tend to leave the state after losing their confidence in the conduct and functioning of the MPSC,” he said.
He recalled that he raised this issue in the Assembly in 2016 or 2017 where he had suggested how to insulate the MPSC which is free from any political interference and where there is fairness and transparency in its functioning.
“However, the suggestions I had made were not taken seriously by the government. Now, we are in a situation where people, especially job seekers, have lost their trust and confidence in the credibility of the MPSC,” he said.
Basaiawmoit said the MPSC is no longer an independent body and being controlled by political masters. He said this has resulted in its total failure to render its mandated service to the people.
He said it is imperative that a confidential section is created in the Commission to deal with matters like the setting of question papers so that responsibility can be fixed in the event of leakage of questions and other wrongdoings.
He further suggested the creation of a moderation board to check and moderate question papers for detecting errors and mistakes in question papers. He said there should be a panel of question setters for different subjects, especially for Class I posts, to prevent leakages.
He suggested that the qualifying marks of personal interview should be around 12.5 per cent of the total marks as per the Supreme Court’s decision and judgment.
Suggesting that the ratio for selection of candidates in the preliminary exam should be 1:10, he said the ratio for the personal interview should be 1:2, which is two candidates per post.
He said the ratio for interviewing posts which do not require a written test can be determined by the Commission.
Basaiawmoit said he is sure that Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and the MLAs received a copy of the 22-point reformative steps to revamp the MPSC as suggested by the Khasi Students’ Union which recently spearheaded a movement against how the MPSC is functioning.
“I would appeal to the government to consider the reformative steps for complete revamp of the MPSC,” he said.
He also said they have witnessed inconsistency in the notifications issued by the MPSC from time to time.
Referring to a notification issued on August 2, 2019, he said it stated that the number of candidates to be called for the main examination shall not be more than ten times than the number of vacancies declared.
“For the personal interview, the notification states that the variation ratio shall be 1:10 to 1:25 depending on the posts advertised,” Basaiawmoit said.
However, he said a notification issued on July 18, 2023 by the MPSC states that the number of candidates to appear for the main examination shall not be more than 15 times than the number of vacancies advertised and the ratio for the personal interview should be 1:25 of the declared posts.
“This action on the part of the MPSC does not inspire candidates and people at large in its functioning,” he said.
In his reply, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said the state government is taking steps to streamline the recruitment process and the overall functioning of the of the recruitment agencies including the MPSC and various District Selection Committees (DSCs).
He said the government has come up with new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for recruitment by various agencies.
He said the MPSC, DSCs and departmental selection committees will need to declare the results within six months from the date of issue of an advertisement.
The CM said these SOPs have to be regularly monitored by all administrative secretaries and HODs including heads in district and sub-divisional levels.
According to him, there are numerous reasons behind the delay in the recruitment process. He said many departments take a lot of time to inform about vacancies and this leads to delay in promotions and recruitment in vacant posts.
“As per the new SOPs, every department will need to inform six months before anybody is superannuated so that necessary procedures can be followed in a time-bound manner and vacancies can be filled up,” he said, adding strict instructions have been issued to all recruitment agencies in this regard.
He said the MPSC is overburdened.
“We have started by creating different selection committees and recruitment boards in various departments. Now the MPSC can focus on the recruitment of grade 1 and higher official posts which are generic in nature,” Sangma said.
He said the government is exploring the option to have a common exam for the same pay and same grade. Once this process is followed in a proper manner, the recruitment process will be very smooth, he added.
“We will not find any delay in promotion issues or filling up of vacancies,” he said.
He assured the House the government is committed to ensuring that every recruitment process in the state is free, fair and transparent and that it is completed in a speedy manner.
“All these initiatives being taken are in the interest of the youth of the state,” Sangma said and rubbished the allegations of nepotism in the MPSC.
He denied that the daughter of the MPSC Secretary was among the candidates who had qualified in the MCS (preliminary) examination as her roll number does not appear in either of the two lists of successful candidates.
He said that an anonymous letter was sent to the KSU, claiming that a candidate by the name of A Marak who is the daughter of the MPSC Secretary had raised objection against the public disclosure of marks secured by the candidates.
The CM reiterated that the question of nepotism does not arise at all and media reports are factually incorrect and should not have appeared without verifying the facts from the MPSC.
He also mentioned that there were media reports that the individual concerned had been selected to the post of LDA conducted by the MPSC and the result was announced on July 16 this year.
Sangma admitted that the MPSC Secretary’s daughter had passed the LDA exam and was ranked 77 out of 116 successful candidates.
“This does not mean there is nepotism since the question papers are set by a panel of experts and the system is confidential and is handled by the MPSC examination cell and not by the Secretary,” he added.