Cry for Staff Selection Board in Nagaland gets louder

Dimapur, July 16 (EMN): Citing data availed through RTI applications, the Public Service Aspirants of Nagaland (PSAN) has (once again) asked the government of Nagaland to set up a Staff Selection Board (SSB), which will conduct a yearly examination for recruitment to all posts that do not come under the purview of the NPSC.

The group of civil service aspirants issued a statement on Tuesday saying that it had filed RTI queries in nine departments that conducted examinations in 2018.

“As per the RTI replies, a total of 25131 applications were received out of which 14847 candidates appeared in the examinations for 183 vacancies. Altogether, the nine departments spent INR 36,46,320 in the process of conducting the departmental examinations. Examination fees of INR 200 on an average were paid by the candidates in each department,” it stated.

According to the PSAN, “a bigger problem” with numerous departmental exams is that the aspiring candidates and their families have to bear heavy costs. “A candidate coming from a  far-flung district will spend a minimum of INR 5,000 per exam, in order to apply for and write the examinations which usually take place in Kohima; thus, adding more physical, mental and financial burden on the already-beleaguered aspirants and their parents.

“Therefore, the need of the hour is for the government to set up a Staff Selection Board (SSB) so as to conduct a common yearly examination for recruitment to all the posts that do not come under the purview of NPSC. The PSAN has been pursuing the matter with the Government for the last three years, but it has not found any takers till date,” it stated.

The group also informed that it could not file RTI queries in some departments “due to non-availability of officers concerned and various technical issues.”