In the wake of violent protests by job aspirants over the selection process of its recruitment exams, the Ministry of Railways has released a set of frequently asked questions and answers to the same. As agitations turned violent in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar with protesters torching empty coaches of a stationary train and blocking rail traffic, the Ministry of Railways on Wednesday decided to put its recruitment drives on hold. The Indian Railways also issued a strong statement against their “misguided” actions and threatened a lifetime ban on employment with the national transporter. Thousands of job aspirants are protesting against the alleged “inaccurate results” of the Railway Recruitment Board’s (RRB) Non-Technical Popular Categories (NTPC) competitive exam, 2021. Police and students clashed at various places in Bihar, while similar incidents were also reported from UP's Prayagraj. Here are the FAQs released by the Ministry of Railways: What is RRB? What is its role and function? Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) functions under the Ministry of Railways, Government of India. It is primarily responsible for recruiting the group 'C' staff. There are 21 RRBs in the country. Recruitments done earlier by RRBs RRBs have notified 2,83,747 vacancies since 2018 and have given appointments to more than 1.32 lakh candidates. Recruitment of remaining vacancies is under process. RRRs have conducted CBTs for about 4 crore candidates in last three and half years despite Covid-19 pandemic. Why recruitment is conducted with two stages of Computer Based Test (CBT) If the number of candidates who have applied against the notification are more than one crore, then, it is advisable to conduct CBT in two stages with the 1st Stage being used to screen the candidates for the 2nd Stage. The 2nd Stage CBT is conducted with limited candidates so that extensive normalisation is not involved and the final merit is just and fair. What is the basis of shortlisting candidates for 2nd Stage CBT? As per the Railway Recruitment Board manual of 2015, candidates 10 times the notified vacancies are to be called for 2nd Stage CBT for Non Technical Popular Categories (NTPC). This is to ensure that the number is limited to the extent that the same can be managed in one or limited shifts to avoid extensive normalisation as well as to ensure that adequate candidates are available for deciding the merit after initial screening is done through the 1st Stage CBT. The same was followed in earlier Centralized Employment Notification (CEN) 02/2010 (for Graduates) and CEN 04/2010 (for 10+2) where candidates 10 times the vacancies were called for 2nd Stage CBT before increasing the same to 15 times for CEN 03/2015 (Graduates). How many candidates are shortlisted for 2nd Stage CBT for NTPC Exam? For CEN 01/2019, the 1st stage CBT had been made common for Graduates and 10+2 pass candidates. It has been prescribed in the CEN that candidates 20 times the notified vacancies will be called for 2nd Stage CBT so that adequate candidates are given opportunity to appear in 2nd Stage CBT after screening through 1st Stage CBT. Short listing should be done for 7 lakh candidates, not 7 lakh roll numbers? Nowhere it was mentioned that 7 lakh distinct candidates will get shortlisted for 2nd stage CBT. Since a 2nd Stage consists of CBT of five different levels and a candidate can be shortlisted for more than one level as per eligibility, merit and option, the lists of 7 lakh roll numbers will have some names appearing in more than one list. RRBs have shortlisted candidates only 4-5 times of notified vacancies. The shortlisting has been done level/post wise at the rate of 20 times notified vacancies as elaborated in para 13 of notification. The lists contain 7,05,446 roll numbers which is 20 times notified vacancies of 35,281. Ten candidates used to fight for one post, but now one candidate will fight for 10 posts. Finally, 35,281 distinct candidates will be selected and one candidate will be appointed against only one post depending upon merit and preference. Hence, no post will remain vacant. Graduate candidates are getting undue benefit of becoming eligible for both Graduate and 10+2 level posts. Had there been different notifications for Graduate and 10+2 level posts as used to be done earlier, they would have to succeed in two different exams. The integration of recruitments for Graduate and 10+2 level posts has been done to save time, energy and effort which has been proved useful during the Covid-19 pandemic. Also, standards of CBT 1 have been kept of 10+2 level so as to not put 10+2 level students at a disadvantage, and it is only in CBT 2 that standards will be different across levels. What has Railways done for protesting candidates against NTPC results? RRBs have postponed the 2nd Stage CBT of NTPC and 1st Stage CBT of Level one. A high power committee comprising senior officials has been formed to look into the concerns and doubts raised by the candidates with regard to the results of 1st Stage Computer Based Test (CBT) of NTPC exam without affecting the existing shortlisted candidates and introduction of 2nd Stage CBT in CEN RRC 01 How can students lodge their grievances with the committee? The candidates can lodge their concerns and suggestions to the committee at email id: rrbcommittee@railnet.gov.in Besides, all Chairpersons of RRBs have also been directed to receive the grievances of candidates. Outreach camps are being organised at various Zonal and Divisional HQs all over the country to facilitate lodging of concerns. What is the last date for registering grievances with the committee? Candidates have been given three-weeks time up to 16/02/2022 to submit their concerns. What is the timeline for the committee to address the grievances? The committee after examining the concerns will submit their recommendations by March 4, 2022. Why has there been a delay in the recruitment process? The recruitment process got delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic since March 2020 and the various restrictions imposed on that account by various states. The capacity that can be utilised for CBT has also got impacted because of social distancing norms leading to an increase in the number of shifts. 1st Stage CBT of CEN 01/2019 involved 133 shifts.
