On Wednesday, October 11, 2023, Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) declared the final result of state’s prestigious ‘Haryana Civil & Allied Services’ examination, commonly known as ‘HCS’, in which all the 61 candidates who appeared in the interview have been selected. Why and how, we shall discuss, but it’s strange and record breaking.   

HPSC had invited applications for 95 posts for ‘HCS Examination-2022’ on February 9, 2023, for which more than ninety thousand candidates had applied. Only half of the applicants appeared in the preliminary examination and out of those who were successful in this examination, 1190 candidates appeared in the main examination held on 12-13 August. According to the main examination result released by the Commission on September 25, only 61 candidates for 95 posts have been considered eligible for interview as per the condition of the commission. And now on October 11, 2023, HPSC has released its final result and all the 61 ,who appeared in the interview, have been selected.

So, the remaining 34 posts will remain vacant now. Why has the commission not found even the least required eligible candidates for interview? What are the conditions which the youth of Haryana are not able to fulfil?

The minimum qualifying marks requirement for HCS main examination remains a hindrance for the candidates. Four papers have to be passed in the main examination – English (100 marks), Hindi (100 marks), General Knowledge (200 marks) and any one optional paper (200 marks). It is mandatory to score minimum 33 percent marks in Hindi and English papers and minimum 45 percent marks in aggregate of all four papers combined. It is a very gloomy picture that in this main examination, out of 1190 candidates appeared, only 61 candidates were able to fulfil these conditions and the remaining 1129 candidates failed to cross this hurdle. What would be more ironic than this that some of the candidates could not even score minimum 33 percent marks in English and Hindi.

Such a situation has not arisen for the first time. Earlier, in the recruitment examination for 600 posts of Agricultural Development Officers (ADO), only 59 candidates were able to pass the examination. That is, 90 percent posts were left vacant due to unavailability of qualified candidates, whereas Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University located in Hisar in the state is considered a leader in agricultural education and the students of this university have earned their name and fame in foreign countries also.  

Why are the sufficient or efficient candidates not being found?

In the state of Haryana, which is consistently included in the statistics of top unemployed states, a long army of unemployed youth is always found standing in the queue to get jobs. During the recent Legislative Assembly session on August 29, 2023, in response to a question asked by Meham MLA Balraj Kundu, the Chief Minister of Haryana had said that at present 5.4 lakh unemployed youth are registered in the state to get jobs.

He also informed that as on July 31, 2023, a long que of 1,03,265 graduates, 29,998 post graduates and 21,569 professional degree holders were registered in various employment offices of the state.

It is clear from the above government data that in Haryana alone, more than 1.5 lakh youth possess the prescribed eligibility for ‘HCS’ examination, who are registered in the employment offices  

It is not that these people do not fill the forms for the posts. More than 90 thousand applicants had filled the forms for 95 posts of HCS recruitment alone, which means an average of one thousand applications for one post. Still, even 95 candidates could not pass the recruitment exam, why so?

Has the education system in the educational institutions of Haryana become so poor that the students coming out from here are not able to score only 33 percent marks in English and Hindi papers and even 45 percent marks in aggregate? Or have students become so discouraged after seeing the long lines of unemployed that they have given up hope and studying? Do they not believe in the slogan of Chief Minister Manohar Lal “No expenditure – No slip” (No Kharchi—No Parchi)? Is it not the effect of ‘Eating Milk and Curd’ of Haryana that by drinking buffalo milk, the bodies of the youth are becoming strong, but the mind is becoming   incapacitated? Is that why wrestlers and players of Haryana are winning medals, but students are lagging behind in ability? But it is not so at all, because every year the youth of Haryana are securing places in the first line of successful candidates in the country’s highest and most difficult ‘IAS’ examination. Then what is the reason?

It seems that the recruitment examination system of the state itself is faulty. The government should pay more attention to this so that the youth of the state can get jobs and lakhs of vacant posts in the state can be filled, so that the public can get relief.

What the leaders of opposition parties allege?

Kumari Selja, a former Union Minister and Ex- President of Haryana Congress, says, “In this examination for HCS, a total of 61 candidates have been shown to have passed the main examination for 95 posts of HCS, it smacks of rigging, rules are being changed for their favourites. The rule says that three times the number of candidates is called for an interview against the total number of posts.”

Attacking the poor education system of Haryana, Kumari Selja states in a statement issued on September 25 that more than 28 thousand posts are lying vacant in government schools. She says that 60 percent posts of professors and assistant professors are lying vacant in government colleges. The condition of the universities is even worse.

Haryana State President of Aam Aadmi Party and Rajya Sabha MP Dr. Sushil Gupta said that there should be a high-level inquiry into the matter as to how only 61 candidates out of 1190 candidates appeared in the main examination were considered eligible for the interview. After all, on what basis was the interview list prepared?

What the solution should be?

There is definitely some truth in the allegations being made by the opposition leaders, the government must improve its education system. Along with this, the examination system of HPSC and Staff Selection Commission also should be under investigation as to how the papers are being set at such a difficult level or paper checking is being done on such a strict scale that candidates are not able to even get passing marks.

An HCS aspirant says, “The Haryana Public Service Commission should also reconsider the condition of minimum prescribed marks. Our neighbouring state Rajasthan has set the condition of minimum 10 percent marks for different subjects in the main examination and 15 percent minimum marks in the aggregate of all the papers for its state level services.  In comparison, Haryana’s condition of minimum 45 percent aggregate marks appears to be more oppressive.”

But, conclusively the fault does not lie with the government or the commission alone, the youth of Haryana should also prepare themselves seriously for a prestigious service like Haryana Civil Service.

Whatever may have been the shortcoming at some steps, the government and the commission will have to keep their credibility clean.

Jag Mohan Thaken is a Haryana based retired Senior Bank Manager, views are personal