Kohima, 25 June (MTNews): The Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department (Administrative Reforms Branch) of the Nagaland government on 27 June has announced the amendment of the Nagaland State Staff Selection Board (NSSB) Regulation 2020 where the viva-voce component was reduced from 12.5% to 5% of the total marks. Following this, the Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) expressed their delight at fulfilling their long-standing demand to lower the viva-voce marks.
The federation said that the move of the government will greatly benefit the thousands of aspirants seeking for employment from the state government in various Group C posts as it will minimize the chance for manipulation by the authorities concerned.
“More so, the principle behind the setting up of NSSB will be upheld by providing a level playing field for all the aspirants and will go a long way in promoting meritocracy and also ensuring that the right person is recruited for the right job,” the federation added.
The Federation also extended their gratitude to the government of the day under the leadership of Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio for exhibiting the political will for positive change and affirmatively responding to the call of the younger generation for transparency and equal opportunity during the recruitment process to various government jobs.
“The board must be reminded that the Federation will continue to keep a close watch on the functioning of the board and also the process of conducting the examinations. It will not tolerate any attempt to mar the examinations with manipulation by any individual whatsoever,” the federation added.
Anomalies found in NPSC CTSE; NSF demands re-examination
The Nagaland Students’ Federation (NSF) has meanwhile lodged a formal complaint with the Chairman of the Nagaland Public Service Commission (NPSC) regarding several anomalies discovered in the recently conducted Combined Technical Examination (CTSE) pertaining to the Civil Engineering stream. The complaint highlighted significant irregularities that have raised concerns among aspiring candidates.
According to NSF, in the complaint letter received by the federation, the anomalies pointed out in the complaint letter by the candidates included the following: 76% of questions from CESE 2022 to CTSE 2023; 177 questions were copy-pasted from Degree to Diploma for which the Diploma Exam had been duly cancelled and that 8 questions in degree paper-I were ‘out of the syllabus’.
Based on these outlined facts, the Naga Students’ Federation said they are compelled to demand a re-examination of the CTSE for the Civil Engineering stream to ensure a level playing field for all aspiring candidates.
The Federation also questioned the sincerity and integrity of the Board members of NPSC and all others involved in the conduct of the examination.
“It is totally unbecoming of the commission responsible for the recruitment of the top bureaucrats and technocrats to allow for lacunas to creep in the question papers over and over again. The process of conducting the various examinations should be properly streamlined and such grievous errors should not be committed again in the future,” the federation added.