Re-exams, random change of interview dates & more — NTA’s horror show in govt recruitment test

Around 89,600 candidates applied for 553 positions in Ministry of Commerce for 'Examiner of Patents and Designs'. Prelims took place 21 December 2023 & mains held 25 January 2024.

Candidates in queue at an exam centre | Representational Image | Courtesy: NTA

New Delhi: It is not just 24 lakh NEET candidates who are facing uncertainty. Another examination conducted by the beleaguered National Testing Agency (NTA) has come under fire in recent years. This was its first recruitment examination exercise in December 2023 and is mired in allegations of incompetence, haphazard and ill-planned re-examination, errors in the marking scheme, non-transparent evaluations, and random change of interview dates.

Around 89,600 candidates had applied for 553 positions in the Ministry of Commerce for ‘Examiner of Patents and Designs’. This was a Group ‘A’ position in the Patent Office of Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDTM). The prelims were conducted on 21 December 2023 and the mains were conducted 25 January 2024.

But from the get-go, this was one of the most excruciating experiences for the job applicants from across India. After many bouts of confusion and back-and-forth, the NTA scrambled to declare the final results in June on its website. 

But it only added to the confusion. There was no list, no scorecard or no cut-off marks. Instead, it said ‘No Results Found’ for around 1,000 applicants who had appeared for prelims. A glitch was blamed; a retest was ordered. It was conducted 5 February, but the public notice for this was issued a day later.

Now, nearly 100 candidates have formed a group and taken the matter to the Delhi High Court demanding a stay on the recruitment process and an independent probe against the testing agency. They are gathering evidence to strengthen their cases. They have documented NTA’s notices about technical glitches, and changing dates of exams, and interviews.

In the past two weeks, 24 lakh NEET students seeking entrance into medical colleges have accused the NTA of irregularities — paper leaks in Bihar and Gujarat, rank inflation, centre mismanagement and arbitrary grace marks. On Wednesday, the NTA called off its UGC-NET examinations citing information that the integrity of its exam was compromised.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi called it a ‘paper leak government’ that is running an incompetent testing system. Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan defended the NTA by denying paper leaks.

The job recruitment exercise was another train-wreck.

“The NTA has not been transparent about the examination process with the students. Be it NEET or NET, numerous irregularities have occurred. We have filed a petition in the Delhi High Court addressing these issues. Such exams are held only once every three years, and this mismanagement severely impacts the aspirants’ future. By the time the next vacancy arises, many will be overage. But who cares about them?” said Dinesh Chandra, the lawyer handling the case.

Untold sufferings

Many students from modest backgrounds had spent money and travelled to Delhi for the examination from far-flung states like Chhattisgarh and West Bengal.

Sumanta Mandal had prepared his best for his job interview for the position of ‘Examiner of Patents and Designs’. Mandal had watched YouTube videos, practised in front of the mirror, and even conducted mock interviews with friends. However, upon reaching the NTA office in Delhi, he was told by the staff that the interview date had been advanced from 27 April to 21 April, without any prior notification to him.

Mandal said he felt really cheated. “I downloaded my admit card and travelled from Bengal to Delhi for the interview. It took me two days to get here, but the NTA didn’t bother to inform me about the date change. All my preparation feels wasted now,” said Sumanta Mandal, 25.

Mandal raised his issue at the NTA office but was treated poorly allegedly by the staff. The agency blamed him for the lack of communication. “Kaan me tel dekar so rahe thae? (Were you asleep?) This is your fault, why did you download the admit card this early,” an NTA staff member allegedly told him.

Mandal left the office, warning of legal action. While on the train back home, he received a phone call from the NTA asking him to return – this time, for a fresh date of the interview on 30 April. They had changed the date again. He got off the train and boarded another train to Delhi. But the train was running seven hours late.

“I told them I couldn’t reach Delhi on 30 April on time. They told me they wouldn’t take the interview if I was even a second late,” said Mandal.

The NTA called him again and asked him to come on 1 May. “I spent around Rs 8,000. I was out of money and couldn’t go back to Delhi again. If they had told me to come on 1 May initially, I could have attended the interview by staying on in Delhi,” Mandal added.

Now, Mandal is one of the petitioners in the case against NTA. “The whole process was a mental torture for me,” Mandal said on the phone to ThePrint.

This examination and the interview for this job was previously conducted by the Quality Council of India, an autonomous organisation, but faced numerous issues such as no biometric verification, no frisking, no fixed seats during exam, leading to the transfer of the examination to the NTA. However, the NTA also failed to conduct the exam smoothly, leaving thousands of job seekers in the lurch. 

Legal battle

On 9 March, candidate Parikshit Grewal and others filed a petition in the Delhi High Court challenging the NTA.

“Admit cards were sent five days before the exam. Candidates who opted for examination centres in Chhattisgarh got centres in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi. A total of 89,657 filled the form, but only 33,228 took the exam because the process was so cluttered,” said Abhishek Raj, one of the petitioners.

The Mains (Phase II) examination was held 25 January, with admit cards issued 21 January. Initially, exam centres were the same as the Prelims, but centres were changed without informing candidates or issuing any public notice.

“Students found this information through Telegram groups and other social media platforms. Candidates suggested to each other to check the centre again, and they found that the centre had changed,” Raj told ThePrint.

Around 1,000 students couldn’t take the exam due to this glitch. The NTA then called 1,037 students for another mains examination held 5 February, without releasing any public notice. 

On 6 February, after student protests, the agency released a notice stating, “Due to a technical glitch in the admit cards of the candidates, a few candidates missed their mains exam on 25 January, and that’s why they were given another opportunity to write the mains examination.”

The NTA held the mains examination thrice: first on 25 January, then 5 February, and again on 28 March after losing a few copies of Paper II. The lost copies led to a re-exam for some candidates after the declaration of the main exam results. 

“The main exam was held thrice, but the NTA did not reveal this in its reply to the court. They hid the fact that one exam was conducted after the results of the mains exam had been declared,” Raj complained.

One of the candidates who appeared for the mains exam on 25 January was called to an examination centre in Noida, Sector 62, and informed that his answer sheet was missing. To get his answer sheet evaluated, he needed to write Paper II again. The question paper given to him on 28 March was the same as that given to candidates on 25 January.

ThePrint reached out to the NTA through calls, texts, and email. This story will be updated upon receiving their response.

Meanwhile, other candidates kept asking the NTA through emails and letters for details such as how many students appeared for the mains exam on different dates, the actual marking criteria, and how many candidates appeared in the shifts on 25 January and 5 February. 

Throughout this process, the NTA allegedly acted non-transparently, with no scorecards, no cut-off marks, and no public clarification of any concerns.

The result for the mains exam was finally declared 26 March, but petitioners claimed that the NTA conducted one candidate’s exam on 28 March in Noida without disclosing this in any public notice. According to the NTA’s reply to the petitioners on 2 April — after the court ordered it to release information — a total of 239 candidates received the remark “Result Later” in their results. 

The NTA’s reply did not satisfy applicants in addressing the irregularities.

Final results & concerns

The irregularities in the CGPDTM examination process conducted by the NTA highlight significant flaws in managing this crucial recruitment exam. These issues not only weaken candidates’ trust in the testing agency but also question the integrity of the overall recruitment process.

The court first asked the petitioners to file their representation directly with the NTA on 13 March. It was only after the NTA failed to convince them with its response that the aspirants went to court again.

After the Delhi High Court issued a notice for the next hearing, the NTA declared the final results on 16 June. The next hearing is 21 June.

“The entire recruitment process, conducted in such a non-transparent manner, has devastated several hardworking and deserving candidates,” said Raj. “We want a stay on the current recruitment and an independent inquiry against the agency. So many lives are at stake.”

(Edited by Tony Rai)