Post News Network
Cuttack, Feb 22: Several candidates have threatened to drag Orissa Public Service Commission (OPSC) to court over alleged irregularities in the recruitment of botany lecturers.
The candidates said the OPSC had invited 50 candidates for an interview round. This was in contravention of guidelines of the Orissa Education Service, University Grants Commission and the Supreme Court, the candidates alleged.
Candidates with several research papers to their credit have been ignored for the interview, the protesters said, adding even those with Ph D, M Phil and National Eligibility Test (NET) qualifications have also been sidelined. Around 260 deserving candidates have been exempted from appearing for the interview, the candidates said.
Sources said OPSC had published an advertisement June 27, 2013 seeking applications for the posts of 25 botany lecturers with an upper age limit of 32. However, the OPSC published a revised advertisement January 26, 2014 in which it sought applications for 30 posts, with an age limit of 40.
Applications were invited from candidates who had cleared NET and possessed Ph D degrees. Despite meeting the criteria, 260 candidates were not invited for the interview.
These candidates are questioning OPSC on what basis their applications were rejected, and why only 50 candidates were called for interviews when the number of posts was 30. Pramod Kumar Kar, a rejected candidate, demanded a high-level probe into the irregularities while another candidate Sudam Sahu, who did research in botany from Indian Institute of Science, called it a ‘scam’.
Refuting the charges, OPSC chairperson Ajit Patnaik said all candidates invited for interviews were more accomplished than the rest.
