Mizoram PSC halts recruitment activities amid student protest over OTR system

The Mizoram Public Service Commission (MPSC) has indefinitely deferred several recruitment examinations, interviews and departmental promotion meetings after a student organization began picketing outside its office.

The agitation by the Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) entered its second day on Aug 11, with members continuing to prevent commission employees from entering the premises.

The disruption has affected ongoing recruitment activities and forced the commission to postpone programs scheduled during the week.

In a notification, the MPSC said Group C examinations for various departments could be affected because question papers prepared by the commission could not be distributed under the prevailing circumstances.

The departments concerned have been asked to wait for further instructions on question paper distribution. Departments that had planned to conduct recruitment examinations in MPSC examination halls have also been advised to make alternative arrangements.

The commission has indefinitely postponed personal interviews for assistant audit and accounts officer, assistant accounts officer (treasury), assistant accounts officer (works) under the Finance Department, and field facilitator under the Social Welfare, Women and Child Development Department.

All written examinations and personal interviews scheduled from Aug 11 to 14 have also been deferred. The MPSC said revised dates would be announced based on the prevailing situation.

Departmental promotion committee meetings related to the promotion, regularization and confirmation of government employees have also been temporarily postponed.

The MZP has been seeking structural changes and additional staff for the commission, arguing that these measures are necessary to improve its efficiency and credibility.

The organization has also raised concerns over administrative issues in recent recruitment exercises and the existing one-time registration (OTR) system.

The student body has demanded that the OTR system be discontinued and replaced with application forms designed for individual posts based on requirements.

It has also sought a one-time opportunity for candidates whose applications were rejected because of incomplete OTR document uploads to submit the missing documents offline.

The demand particularly covers candidates who cleared written examinations but were later disqualified during document verification.

The MPSC has opposed the demands, including the proposal to discontinue OTR, arguing that scrapping the system could create additional difficulties for candidates and disrupt a standardized recruitment process.

The commission said OTR was introduced to streamline recruitment and promote fairness and equality in public employment.

Expressing “serious concern” over the protest that began on Aug 10, the commission said the disruption was affecting candidates scheduled for written examinations and personal interviews and could also delay the promotion of government officers.

On the demand for a special offline document submission window, the MPSC said such an arrangement would compromise equal treatment.

It argued that candidates who submitted complete applications within the stipulated deadline could be placed at a disadvantage if others were subsequently allowed to provide missing documents.

The commission maintained that applications can be rejected at any stage when required documents are missing, regardless of a candidate's performance in the written examination.

The MPSC acknowledged the difficulties faced by candidates and said it had already taken steps to strengthen scrutiny during the initial application stage.

It has also sought additional manpower from higher authorities to facilitate detailed document verification when applications are first submitted.

The commission said work was continuing to improve its online recruitment portal and appealed to the MZP to withdraw the agitation and allow employees to resume work at its office.