Chandigarh, July 29 (IANS) Punjab Leader of the Opposition in Punjab, Partap Singh Bajwa on Wednesday expressed concern over the recurring controversies surrounding recruitment and competitive examinations in the state, saying the repeated irregularities have undermined the confidence of the youth in the fairness of the recruitment process.
He says the future of lakhs of deserving aspirants cannot be compromised because of administrative failures or the government’s refusal to accept accountability.
Bajwa states that the Aam Aadmi Party government has repeatedly claimed that not a single examination paper has been leaked during its tenure. However, the past four and a half years have witnessed one controversy after another involving recruitment examinations and the integrity of the examination system.
Allegations and irregularities relating to the Naib Tehsildar recruitment examination, the Punjab State Teacher Eligibility Test (PSTET), the cancellation of the Class XII board English examination following the confirmation of a paper leak, the Group-B recruitment controversy, and now the Pharmacy Officer recruitment examination have collectively raised serious questions about the credibility of the government’s claims.
“The government may refuse to describe the Pharmacy Officer recruitment examination as a paper leak, but changing the terminology does not change the reality. If the sanctity of an examination has been compromised, if organised cheating has allegedly taken place, and if the credibility of an entire recruitment process has come under a cloud, then who will accept responsibility? Can injustice done to thousands of young aspirants simply disappear because the government chooses to call it something else?” Bajwa asks.
He questions why different standards appear to be applied to similar incidents across the country.
“Whenever examination paper leaks occur elsewhere, the Aam Aadmi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are quick to demand resignations and accountability. Why should Punjab be an exception? Accountability cannot have one yardstick for other states and another for Punjab,” Bajwa adds.
–IANS
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