Bhubaneswar, 28 April (H.S.): Amid serious irregularities uncovered during the recently conducted OSSC and OPSC examinations, the Odisha government has assured that strict action will be taken against those responsible. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj emphasized that no guilty party will be spared.
The Minister informed that the departments associated with the organization of these examinations would carry out thorough investigations into the lapses. Highlighting the government’s commitment to maintaining the integrity of competitive examinations, he noted that a Bill had recently been introduced and passed in the Legislative Assembly to implement stricter measures against such discrepancies.
Whoever is found guilty will face strict action under the law, Minister Suraj affirmed.
The controversy emerged after glaring errors were reported in both the OSSC and OPSC exams held on Sunday. In the Odisha Staff Selection Commission (OSSC) examinations for the posts of Excise Sub-Inspector and Traffic Sub-Inspector, candidates were shocked to find that questions from the Combined Graduate Level (CGL) examination had been mistakenly used. Aspirants, who had prepared based on the prescribed syllabus focusing on Odia, English, and General Knowledge, were dismayed when they encountered questions centered on Arithmetic instead, causing confusion and disappointment.
Similarly, the Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) faced intense criticism during the Odisha Civil Services (OCS) 2023 Main Examination. In the first sitting for the optional Anthropology Paper-I, candidates were given questions meant for Paper-II. Conversely, in the second sitting for Anthropology Paper-II, they received questions from Paper-I, further compounding the confusion.
The incidents have sparked widespread concern among aspirants and the public, raising serious questions about the management and oversight of critical examinations in the state. The government’s assurance of strict action has brought some hope to the affected candidates as investigations move forward.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda
