By Our Reporter
Shillong, April 3: The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) on Thursday emphasised the urgent need for the improvement of the Meghalaya Public Service Commission (MPSC) to enhance governance, uphold meritocracy, curb corruption, and promote transparency and accountability.
Members of the KSU Employment Monitoring Committee (EMC), led by its chairman Reuben Najiar, met with the MPSC Committee on Reforms which is headed by FR Kharkongor, in the presence of Commissioner and Secretary CVD Diengdoh and former UPSC chairman Prof David Syiemlieh. Diengdoh and Prof Syiemlieh are members of the MPSC Committee on Reforms.
The KSU lauded the state government for taking the long-overdue step of reforming the MPSC by establishing this committee. The government’s decision to form the committee followed protests led by the student body demanding transparency and fairness in the MPSC recruitment processes.
In a memorandum submitted to Kharkongor, Najiar said the KSU has led numerous movements, protests, agitations, and discussions with both the MPSC and the government in pursuit of transparency and accountability. He emphasised that unless systemic changes are made, no meaningful improvements will be achieved, regardless of individual reform efforts.
He further highlighted that this realisation led the union to draft the ‘Twenty-Point Charter to Revamp MPSC,’ which was submitted to Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on August 21 last year and shared with all MLAs of the state.
The union now seeks to present the same recommendations to the Reforms Committee that were previously submitted during the public consultation process on MPSC reforms. The KSU leader pointed out several other concerns beyond the Twenty-Point Charter to Revamp MPSC for the committee’s consideration.
He said the MPSC, which is the state’s apex recruitment authority, lacks fundamental guidelines and technological integration, making reforms essential. According to him, the formation of this committee is a step in the right direction.
Najiar also raised concerns over the rising number of recruitment boards in the state, alleging that they operate under flawed policies with little to no transparency or accountability. He said many of these boards function without clear rules or regulations, relying instead on their own discretion.
Similarly, he continued, certain government departments conduct their own recruitment and interviews without established guidelines or accountability mechanisms.
Najiar said the KSU would like to highlight the example of the Meghalaya Medical Service Recruitment Board.
“In September 2024, the Board announced the results for the recruitment of 164 staff nurses, but the process was deeply flawed. Multiple versions of the results were published, each riddled with inconsistencies and discrepancies,” he said.
He also said that the examination process itself was chaotic—questions and answer keys were defective, and the entire recruitment process was in disarray.
Upon intervention and analysis, he said the union discovered that there were no clear recruitment rules or regulations in place.
While the Board was led by government officials, he said the actual recruitment responsibilities were unfairly assigned to doctors from the Directorate of Health Services who lacked expertise in the recruitment process and were already overburdened with administrative duties.
He said the union firmly believes that any recruitment board must adhere to the highest standards of guidelines, rules, and processes. He said failure to do so not only leads to injustice for applicants but also creates opportunities for corruption and nepotism.
“We would like to recommend that any useful recommendations from this Committee should also be extended to recruitment boards, ensuring uniformity in rules and preventing deviations in the selection process,” Najiar said, pointing out that the District Selection Committees (DSCs) should similarly align with these recommendations for a fair and transparent recruitment system.
The KSU asserted that recruitment should not be handled by the same department that seeks to fill positions.
According to Najiar, instead, designated authorities with required competence and integrity should be responsible for recruitment to prevent malpractice and favoritism.
Meanwhile, he said another pressing issue is the high examination fees charged by the MPSC, DSCs, and various recruitment boards.
He said applicants are required to pay Rs 500 or more per application. In contrast, central recruitment exams often provide fee concessions or complete exemptions for Scheduled Tribe applicants.
“Given that the majority of candidates in the state belong to Scheduled Tribes, the high fees pose a significant financial burden. There should be a reasonable cap on examination fees to ensure that applicants from lower-income groups are not discouraged from applying,” Najiar said.
The KSU flagged the lack of government support for differently-abled individuals in employment opportunities. Although reservations exist for them in government jobs, there are no clear guidelines to facilitate their participation in recruitment examinations, Najiar said.
He stressed that the government must provide reasonable accommodations, including necessary tools and equipment, to ensure equal opportunities for the differently-abled candidates.
The KSU demanded that the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, must be fully implemented to uphold their rights. The union acknowledges some improvements in the recruitment process following its protests and agitations against MPSC in August last year.
Najiar observed that the examination and result declaration process has become more efficient, and answer keys are now being provided to candidates. He, however, said that despite these improvements, significant flaws remain.
Citing an example, he said in the recruitment of Assistant Public Prosecutors, an ineligible candidate without the required experience was selected, prompting legal challenges.
Similarly, he pointed out that in the recruitment of Typists (HOD), the Commission deviated from the original advertisement and violated the Meghalaya Directorate Establishment (Ministerial) Service Rules, 2010, raising further concerns of nepotism.
He said these persistent issues highlight the urgent need for major reforms within the Commission and other recruitment boards.
Without substantial changes, he added that the recruitment process will continue to be plagued by inefficiencies, corruption, and a lack of transparency.
