Bijendra Gogoi
(bijendragogoidme@gmail.com)
During the last three and a-half years, the Assam government has provided more than 1.25 lakh government jobs to the unemployed youth in the state. In terms of duration and number, this is a commendable achievement of the state government. An important aspect is that no litigation has been reported alleging irregularities in the recruitment process so far. This implies that the recruitment has been conducted in a fair and transparent manner. The recruits who have joined the government machinery are an important pillar of the state administrative setup. The government officials shoulder huge responsibilities in the implementation of welfare schemes and initiatives taken for the overall well-being of the people. The government officials are like a bridge that connects the government with the people and vice versa. If the officials are honest, sincere, and responsible, there is no need for the public to rush to government offices unnecessarily to get their jobs done. Therefore, ensuring a fair and transparent recruitment process is a primary requirement for building an efficient administration system.
The Assam government in recent years has taken extensive reform initiatives in the recruitment of candidates for various departments. Earlier, the class III and IV posts were filled up through departmental recruitment boards. The common practice followed by the departments was to carry out recruitment as per their service rules or executive orders. Such service rules or orders contain details of the appointing authority and eligibility criteria for the posts. In the state government, while there are more than hundred such service rules or executive orders, some services still do not have any service rules. Departmental committees for recruitment were formed with officers of the departments. As they were entrusted with other responsibilities, such officers could not exclusively dedicate themselves to the task alone, and the departmental committees could seldom successfully complete the recruitments in time. Moreover, there were several recruitment committees or boards for posts having similar natures of work in different departments, especially class III and IV posts, and therefore, eligible candidates had to apply separately for all such posts and appear for recruitment examinations accordingly earlier. There was large-scale variation in quality and the process of examinations conducted by the recruitment boards or agencies. Moreover, involvement of agencies that lacked professionalism also increased the risk of litigation, thereby delaying the process further.
The “Assam Direct Recruitment Commissions for Analogous Posts in Class-III and Class-IV Act 2021,” enacted by the state government, has had a far-reaching impact in addressing such complexities in the recruitment process. The Act paved the way for the constitution of two state-level recruitment commissions for class-Ill and class IV posts. This gave a paradigm shift to government recruitment. The act provided an enabling clause so that the eligibility criteria of all the analogous posts for various departments are harmonized. The act had an overriding effect on the various service rules and paved the way for the conduct of the combined exams by the commissions. The Act further empowered the government to make rules to specify posts in class III and class IV to which recruitment was to be made under the provisions of the Act.
Another important step taken by the government was to entrust SEBA to conduct the direct recruitment examination. Based on the results of the direct recruitment examination, now popularly known as ADRE, i.e., the Assam Direct Recruitment Examination, conducted by the State Level Recruitment Commissions for more than 25,000 class III and class IV posts by the end of 2022, the state government gave appointments to successful candidates in various departments. During the mega recruitment rally held at Khanapara Veterinary College playground on May 25, 2023, appointment letters were distributed for more than 40,000 posts, including the candidates recruited through direct recruitment examination, which set a new milestone in the history of the state. The state government filled up the posts having higher grade pay by candidates securing higher marks as per the “Assam Direct Recruitment for Class III and Class IV Analogous Posts Rules, 2022.” In addition, candidates within a particular grade have been allotted departments by draw of the lottery. With such reformative measures, the state government has again conducted the direct recruitment examination for around 12,600 posts of class III and class IV this year. The ADRE conducted in the most transparent manner earlier has helped the youth to regain their faith in the government recruitment process. This is evident from the fact that over 11 lakh candidates have applied for the ongoing recruitment exam for class III and IV posts.
Recently, the Assam government has enacted important legislation to curb malpractices and ensure transparency in the public recruitment process. The Assam Public Examination (Measures for Prevention of Unfair Means in Recruitment) Act, 2024, aims to prevent cheating, impersonation, question paper leakage, and organised recruitment scams. Under the Act, the definition of “conduct of public examination” includes all aspects from printing of question papers, answer sheets, and OMR sweets to supervision, coding, processing, storage, transportation, distribution and collection, declaration of results, etc. The act includes strict penalties for individuals involved in exam malpractices and criminalises the use of unfair means, including cheating, impersonation, and leaking of exam content.
As per the Act, any examinee who indulges in unfair means shall be liable for imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years with a fine not less than one lakh rupees. An examinee who has been convicted of an offence under the provision of this Act shall be debarred from taking any public examination for a period of two years. If any person, including examinee, whether entrusted or authorised with the conduct of public examination or not, in conspiracy or otherwise indulges or attempts to indulge in unfair means shall be punished with imprisonment for a period from five to ten years with a fine which shall not be less than ten lakh rupees. In case of connection of a person in an organised crime in conspiracy with the examination authority or otherwise indulges or attempts to indulge in unfair means or contravene any of the provisions of this Act, the court shall make an order of recovery of any wrongful gains made by such person by way of attachment and sale of any of the assets/property movable or immovable, or both, of such person by following the procedure laid down in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. If the person of the management, institution, limited liability partnership, or others has been found guilty of the offence, they shall be liable to pay all costs and expenditures related to the examination, as determined by the Special Court, and shall be banned forever. All offences specified under this Act shall be cognisable, non-bailable, and non-compoundable. Further, all offences specified under this Act shall be investigated only by a police officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police. The State Government shall, after consultation with the Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court, designate and notify as many Special Courts to try offences under this Act, and a court not below the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge shall be designated as a Special Court. These provisions to ensure fairness and transparency in recruitment exams are expected to play a significant role in deterring malpractice in the recruitment process in the future.
The successful conduct of the ADRE in the past and also the written examinations held recently without any irregularities underline the positive impact of the reforms initiated by the state government. The qualified, skilled, and efficient human resources recruited in a fair and transparent manner have also increased people’s expectations from the government more than ever. The reforms implemented by the state government in the recruitment process will only be truly fruitful if the new recruits devote themselves to the service of the people with dedication, utmost honesty, and sincerity.