Pune: ‘MahaPariksha Portal’ shut but here’s why MPSC aspirants are still protesting

What was MahaPariksha Portal and demand of the aspirants?

The erstwhile Devendra Fadnavis-led government had started the MahaPariksha Portal by MahaIT for recruitment to several state government posts. However, aspirants have claimed that the system was flawed and demanded it be shut down immediately. Aspirants have claimed that there was a gross mismanagement with several cases of mass copying, dummy candidates, out of syllabus and repetition of questions in exam papers, use of the mobile phone and electronic devices during examinations, lack of proper seating arrangement and improper time management at exam halls, misuse of the biometric system among others.

After several representations by students, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announced that the portal was being shut down. He announced that private agencies would be given the work for Class C and D jobs appointments at the district level by MahaIT to do the job instead.

Why are students not satisfied?

According to students, shutting down MahaPariksha Portal is only a part of the solution. “If any private agency comes in and again online tests are conducted at the district level, what is the guarantee that the same problems won’t crop up? That is why we are demanding that all appointments take place through the MPSC mechanism only,” Mahesh Bade, a member of the MPSC Students Rights forum, said. The forum has been leading the statewide protests.

What is the current situation?

In the last week of February, aspirants started a Twitter campaign with a hashtag #onlyMPSC to draw the attention of the government. Having received no response, hundreds of aspirants also staged a protest at Alka Talkies Chowk on March 2, but to no avail.

The aspirants said they were undeterred and will continue to raise their voice.