© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) conducts national-level recruitment exams to fill Group B and Group C non-technical posts in various ministries. While exams like SSC CGL and CHSL attract over 3 million applications, the commission has observed a decline in registrations.
In an exclusive interaction with indianexpress.com, SSC Chairman S Gopalakrishnan discusses the reasons behind the drop in enrollment, the commission’s efforts to modernise recruitment practices, the delay in releasing answer keys, and the decision to replace its long-time exam vendor TCS with a new partner, Eduquity.
The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) recently changed its exam vendor — earlier, TCS conducted the exams, and now a new company, Eduquity, has been appointed. What led to this change?
TCS has been managing SSC exams since 2018. Its contract ended in 2023 and was extended until 2024–25. After that, a fresh tender process was conducted, through which Eduquity was selected as the new exam vendor.
How is the new vendor system different from the earlier TCS-led model? What exactly is Eduquity’s role in the examination process?
Earlier, TCS managed all aspects of SSC exams. Now, following Supreme Court directions, four separate entities handle question paper setting, exam conduct, vigilance, and security.
When TCS was conducting the exams, they were also responsible for their own security. I’m not blaming them, but it’s like asking a watchman if there was a theft in the night. Which watchman will say yes?
Eduquity functions solely as the test delivery partner. It has no idea — before or after — what the paper is.
In recent years, the number of SSC applicants has fallen. What explains this decline?
Contrary to assumptions, the drop is due to Aadhaar-based authentication, not declining interest. SSC introduced this system in July to prevent duplicate registrations.
Earlier, one could submit 5-10 applications and all of them would be accepted. Now with Aadhaar, only one application is allowed. For instance, SSC CGL this year received 28 lakh applications, compared to 34 lakh last year.
Which SSC exams attract the highest number of applicants?
The SSC Constable exam records the largest turnout, followed by SSC CGL and SSC MTS. In the Constable exam, we get nearly 60 lakh applications, however, 20–25 lakh appear for the exam. That is one of our biggest exams.
Managing exams of such massive scale must be challenging. How does SSC handle logistics and security?
As the number of applications is humongous, the exam is conducted in 30 to 40 shifts across around 300 venues nationwide. We rely on private IT centres — some are good, some not so much. At times, there are attempts of data theft through their networks, and we have to detect and prevent them using technology.
Impersonation and malpractice have been growing concerns in online exams. How is SSC addressing these?
The Commission is increasingly relying on technology to detect and curb impersonation. For instance, we conducted the CGLE in 45–50 shifts, and there’s a special shift scheduled for tomorrow. It’s primarily for candidates against whom we have a clear suspicion of malpractice. If such candidates are again found involved in malpractice, we will have to debar them.
Some candidates may feel they’re being unfairly targeted — many say their exam went well, yet they’re being asked to reappear. But if someone hacked the system and scored high marks, we will ask them to take the exam again.
What are ‘Adarsh Pariksha Kendras,’ and how are they different from regular exam centres?
These are centres developed by private entities with model infrastructure. We are using these centres just like any private centre. That’s why they have invested in making them model centres.
They are more reliable in terms of infrastructure and candidate comfort. We will encourage more such centres.
There have been concerns about answer key delays and repeated questions. What went wrong?
There was a 50-day delay in the release of answer keys for SSC Selection Posts, and we faced initial issues with auditing in the new system. A technical snag occurred in July, but since then, no problems have been found. That exam was the first where questions were pushed without auditing. We have now implemented a different audit system, and four exams conducted since then have proceeded smoothly without any such issues.
We follow the equi-percentile system. So, even if questions were repeated in one shift, it has no impact on that shift or any other shift.
SSC’s recruitment process has often been criticised for taking too long. Will this change?
It is shorter now. The Commission is working to streamline its processes through a multi-agency model, Aadhaar integration, and enhanced technological oversight, all aimed at ensuring transparency and credibility.
