By Arindam Ganguly, OP
Bhubaneswar: The controversy surrounding the Combined Recruitment Examination (CRE) 2023 (IV), conducted by the Odisha Sub-ordinate Staff Selection Commission (OSSSC), has deepened with the announcement of revised main exam dates.
The recruitment drive — for posts like Revenue Inspector (RI), Assistant Revenue Inspector (ARI), Amin, ICDS Supervisor, and Statistical Field Surveyor (SFS) — will now be held from August 1 to early September 2025.
Concerns over the integrity of the recruitment process are not new. Last year, hundreds of aspirants staged protests in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, alleging major irregularities in the preliminary exams conducted by OSSSC.
Held between September 20 and October 20, 2024, the exams drew flak for being outsourced to a blacklisted private firm and conducted at privately-run cyber cafes and computer centers.
Adding fuel to the fire, OSSSC declared that all candidates — except nine caught cheating — were qualified to sit for the main exam.
This blanket decision has sparked sharp criticism from aspirants and civil society groups, who question its alignment with merit-based and transparent recruitment principles.
Bibhuti Bhusan Mahapatra, convenor of Students Against Corruption (SAC), which has been protesting the exam irregularities, alleged that bribes were paid in advance and exam tickets would be ‘sold’.
SAC, agitating for over a year, has accused OSSSC officials of corruption — manipulating recruitment and profiting from the sale of government school books.
The group is demanding that exams be held offline in a single-shift format to ensure fairness. Mahapatra said recruitment corruption and job selling have become rampant and systematic in Odisha.
He called the decision to retain the same online format — despite qualifying all candidates for the mains — as clear evidence of a rigged system, where “advance payment guarantees a confirmed job sale.”
He said the RI-Amin recruitment process has lacked transparency since 2023, pushing many deserving candidates to the brink of severe mental distress.
He urged the government to restore trust by holding the exam offline in a single shift and launching a probe into the alleged corruption, with strict action against those involved.
Critics have flagged the suspicious timing of official moves. Former OSSSC chairman Saswat Mishra was removed amid controversy but appointed Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister June 29.
The very next day, OSSSC announced the new exam in the same disputed online format, which Mahapatra called a ‘conspiracy’. He also questioned what action was taken against the firm behind the original irregularities.
SAC has warned of a statewide strike starting July 4 if their demands remain unmet.
Earlier, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari acknowledged issues, particularly with exam centers run by private agencies. He assured the public of the government’s commitment to transparency in future exams.
The state has also announced plans for a new law imposing strict penalties to curb cheating and malpractices in public recruitment exams.
Despite assurances, discontent is rising among job seekers, many believing the system favours the corrupt.
Candidate Umakanth Sahoo urged the Odisha government to immediately revise OSSSC’s decision and adopt a more transparent exam format.
Shuvendu Pradhan slammed OSSSC for its ‘corrupt mindset’, saying that despite protests and evidence from students, the commission repeats mistakes, indicating that corruption has become a deliberate practice rather than a mere incident.
PNN
