Protests in UP, Bihar, Railways puts recruitment drive on hold

Reaching out to protesters, the Railways announced a high-level committee, headed by Deepak Peter Gabriel, principal executive director of industrial relations in the ministry, to engage with them. However, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw emphasised that the ministry’s “employment notification has legal sanctity”. “So for those who have grievances, we will have to find a solution and deal with the matter with sensitivity,” he said.

Sources said the decision was taken in view of the worsening law and order situation in Bihar. The effect was spilling over to other parts of the country, said officials. “The situation was just going out of our hands and spilling over to other parts of India. They were mobilising through Telegram, WhatsApp and other social media,” said a senior Railway official.

The immediate concern, according to sources, was the protest in Prayagraj on Tuesday, with the political dispensation fearing that the discontent would spread in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh. A majority of the candidates are reported to be from Uttar Pradesh, followed by Bihar. For instance, the Allahabad Railway Recruitment Board received around 20 lakh applications.

The current recruitment drive for Non Technical Popular Categories (NTPC), in which 3.84 lakh candidates were shortlisted for 35,281 vacant posts in various categories ranging from junior clerk, train assistant, guard, timekeeper to station master earlier this month, is at the centre of the ongoing protests.

Vaishnaw’s statement means that the 3.84 lakh who qualified for the second round of the NTPC recruitment drive will remain qualified. A total of 1.25 crore candidates had appeared for the exam. The protesters are reported to be mainly candidates who could not qualify.

Addressing a press conference, Vaishnaw said. “I urge the candidates to put forth their grievances formally. Our intention is to resolve this issue quickly. A committee has been formed and it will examine representations by the candidates.” He also urged protesters not to destroy public property.

With 1.25 crore candidates applying for these jobs, the Railways held a common test, called Computer Based Test-1 (CBT-1), between April-July 2020. The results were declared on January 14 this year. The second round of exams (CBT-2), as per “graded difficulty” wherein every level will have a separate exam, was scheduled to start from February 15.

Around 11,000 of these vacancies require 10+2 (Class 12 pass) as the minimum qualification. The rest are higher-pay posts that require graduation as the minimum qualification. The posts are spread across five pay grades— from level 2 to level 6.

The protesters are claiming that those with higher qualifications will get a shot at jobs meant for those with lower qualifications and spoil their chances. Sources said there is a possibility that some of the grievances, like the cut-offs being too high, may be looked into.

Individual Railway Recruitment Boards will reach out and create groups including protesting candidates and those who qualified. “We will hear them out and also explain to them,” said an official.

The ministry has also decided to suspend its Level 1 (Group D) recruitment drive as a pre-emptive measure. The ministry had decided to hold a two-stage exam, but had not mentioned this in its original notification, triggering protests.

Common test key issue

The decision to hold a common screening test for posts across five pay grades has backfired. One of the issues raised by protesters is that candidates with higher qualifications will get a shot at jobs meant for those with lower qualifications and spoil their chances. For instance, a graduate cannot be stopped from appearing for an exam where the minimum qualification is 10+2. Candidates have also expressed discontent over the marking system.