By PRASANTA KU. DASH
Bhubaneswar, Oct 3:Mineral-rich & resourceful Odisha is emerging as an industrial hub where large scale & small scale enterprises along with downstream and value-addition allied units are about to loom across the potential districts of the state.
With the unified vision of the recent double engine government, the expectations of the educated and technically trained youths, know no bounds,as the ‘State Level Single Window Clearance Authorities’(SLSWCA) and the ‘Invest Odisha’ perspective, promise wide windows of direct jobs, employment and diverse offers of self-employment.
With the swearing in of the Mohan Majhi led Cabinet, vacancies that are arising in various departments of the state government, are being filled up, on a war footing whereas new posts and essentially fresh cadres are being created in various sections of services for a robust governance.
As on the records, the state government has filled up tens of thousands posts in key departments including health, education, transport, agriculture, civil defence, women & child development, for a robust governance. The government is appointing its workforces following a number of scrutinies whereas autonomous and statutory bodies like the Odisha Staff Selection Commission(OSSC), Odisha Public Service Commission(OPSC) and Odisha Sub-ordinate Staff Selection Commission(OSSSC), among others are looking after the registration, entry-level exams and verification of documents of the shortlisted applicants.However, the reported malpractices in the selection committees and the institutions, entrusted to enroll, select and finalise the staff and workforces for government offices,have now put the jobseekers in trouble.
Not only the entrance examinations, essentially meant to qualify for pursuing technical or higher studies that encounter massive public litigations, for alleged irregularities in the selection procedure and breaching specific norms led down for them, almost all the recruitments are amassing a lot of criticism for malpractices adopted by the allied offices and some of its unscrupulous officials.
May it RI & Amin, Junior Teacher, Homeguard, Nursing officer and Paramedical staff or Police Recruitment, all the applicants for the jobs, are now beating the bush as most of the recruitments are on their half ways, due to systemic failure or questionpaper related issues. Some of the recruitments are yet hanging despite final selection process, as they are sub judice in the Orissa High Court, for a number of petitions filed in connection with the gross irregularities in conducting the exams or setting its justful guidelines.
About 3 years ago, the then BJD government had notified for recruitment of about 7 thousand Nursing Officers, Pharmacists and Auxiliary Nursing Midwifery (ANM). The Exam and recruitment was conducted by the OSSS while at least 1.7 lakh applicants had registered for it. However, the questionpapers for the exams were found faulty and allegely sponsored by a specific Nursing Guide Book Publisher.Similarly, the answer keys attached with the questionpaper-cum-answer sheet, were also found faulty because some contained dual and wrong answers.It wreaked a revolt among the applicants after the provisional result was declared.
Apart from it, at least 800 applicants could not appear the written exams due to technical glitches of the institution. Of them, about 60 applicants were later allowed in the exams, as they moved the Orissa High Court in this connection. Similarly, the grace mark allotted to the Covid Warriors, was another key issue in the recruitment to create annoyance among the eligible front line covid workers, who remained exempted from the appointment.
The Odisha Teachers’ Eligibility Test (OTET) Exam which is considered to be an entry-level exam for the teachers, amassed a great deal of defamation, when a sizeable kickback was unfolded after its questionpapers went viral before the exam.
With the Crime Branch’s scanner, the Board of Secondary Education (BSE), Odisha Cuttack that conducts the High School Certificate Exams(Matriculation) was found the epicenter of the OTET row. Following the investigation, BSE Vice-President Nihar Ranjan Mohanty was revealed the key person and a contractual Data Entry Operator, the main accomplice, to play with the students’ future.
The RI, ARI & Amin Recruitment Exams, conducted a few months ago, was finally cancelled and rescheduled, as a gross irregularity in conducting the exams in some susceptible centres, came out where the computer test was conducted with no laws, as specified in the prospectus.With a slew of petitions by the applicants, the Orissa High Court had ruled to halt the final selection of the recruitment drive.
The Junior Teachers’ recruitment 2024, had invited large scale discontent from the trained graduate applicants as various irregularities in the exam process, came to fore.Finally, the Orissa High Court intervened and ordered to halt its final result.
Similarly, the ICDS Supervisor, and SFS Combined Recruitment Examination (CRE) in late July 2025 was suddenly postponed due to alleged irregularities and malpractices, including the improper qualification of candidates and the involvement of a blacklisted company. A fresh preliminary examination is reportedly scheduled in this Oct.
Recently, the Odisha Police Sub-Inspector recruitment where thousands of job offers were announced and lakhs of aspirants had applied to join the cop as a Sub-inspector, was postponed a few days ago.The entire recruitment drive was put on hold,as the questionpapers of the massive recruitment drive went viral and was found with an organized job fraudsters. Significantly, at least 114 aspirants with three masterminds were arrested from Odisha-Andhra border, who were allegedly on the transit to drill the question papers among the applicants, in lieu of crores of amounts.
Apart from the staff selection bodies those recruit workmen for the state government offices, massive corruptions in selecting staff and officials in some state managed PSUs and Corporates, have demoralized the legitmate aspirants. Most of the genius aspirants quit fair competitions being frustrated with the exams and re-examinations, conducted for a kind of job.
On the allegations of some specific irregularities in the recruitment, the Central Bereau of Investigation (CBI) had reportedly been to NALCO corporate office, to audit the documents relating to certain appointments. In most of the Private Companies, Private Sector Undertakings and corporates, venturing in Odisha, are allegedly not adopting fair ways of recruitments. It has been ascertained that some less competent staff are working in different sectors that are less productive for the organization rather liabilities for the nation, who were allegedly favoured by some unscrupulous trade union leaders.
Similarly, local candidates are getting exempted from securing a befitting job in a corporate that is situated near his home due to the irregular and less efficient Corporate Social Responsibility, Rehabilitation and Periphery Development Advisory Committee (RPDAC) and Rehabilitation & Rehabilitation(R&R) policy, practised by the concerned enterprises.
On the other hand, outsiders i.e from West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh etc, are holding the key positions in large numbers, that magnifies the woes of unemployed youths in the state.
The impasse in getting a befitting job in Odisha either in a government office, private sector or public sector undertaking, will be resolved if and only if the governments, state and the Union both, would workout a robust strategy to check the laxity in recruitment drives and ensure adopting zero tolerance towards corruption and malpractices in conducting recruitment exams in all forms.
