Chaos at vocational teacher job test as candidates protest in Amritsar

Amritsar : Thousands of candidates who had appeared for the recruitment test for the posts of vocational training teachers were a hassled lot due to the mismanagement of the administration. The recruitment test was held at the Skill Development Centre near Government College here on Sunday. The test has been postponed till further information.

As per information the test was conducted against a vacancy for 100 posts of vocational teachers. Over 5,000 candidates had reached the centre to take the test. The test is being conducted by private firm named ‘Vedanta’ in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode.

Meanwhile, the firm had not made proper arrangements for the accommodation of all the candidates. Sources said, “Only few candidates were issued token number for the test. All candidates could not appear for the test despite being eligible for the same.”

Enraged over the indiscipline caused by the mismanagement at the centre, the candidates were seen arguing with the staff members. Even the campus area was not enough to accommodate the candidates. Sources said, a girl candidate fainted due to suffocation at the centre and was hospitalized immediately.

Notably, only 300 candidates could take the test. Rest of the candidates entered inside the campus forcibly and started shouting slogans. Few candidates also barged into the room where the questions papers were kept and took some copies away. As the authorities expressed their helplessness, they returned with empty hands.

Sources said, “A copy of question paper reached the candidates who were waiting for their turn outside the centre.” This irked the candidates further and they staged a minor protest outside the examination centre. The candidates alleged that the question paper was leaked.

A candidate Jagsir Singh said, “We were only informed about the date and examination centre regarding the test through a notification, but not issued any roll number.”

“We are facing inconvenience here since morning. The authorities have not made any proper arrangements to conduct the test in a systematic order,” said candidate Navneet Kaur whose parents were also waiting with her at the centre. The candidates belonging to Malwa region also questioned the test arrangements stating that it is unfair to conduct the test so far from their region. “A separate test should have been conducted in Malwa instead of calling us so far to take the test,” a candidate on the condition of anonymity said.

Centre in-charge Varinder said, “We were conducting the test in a disciplined manner, but the arrangements made were not as per the number of the candidates who arrived for the test. The candidates came in huge number. So, we could not control the situation.” “We have postponed the test.The next date is yet to be fixed.”

Note: News shared for public awareness with reference from the information provided at online news portals.