Jharkhand govt seeks student feedback through email after second round of talks ends inconclusively

The Jharkhand government’s second round of discussions with students protesting alleged irregularities in government recruitment examinations ended without a final decision on their demands on Aug 8.

An eight-member delegation of the JPSC-JSSC Abhyarthi Nyay Manch participated in the talks with government representatives at a guest house in Ranchi.

The meeting followed discussions held on Friday between the government and another group of protesting students belonging to the JPSC-JSSC Reform Manch.

The students raised demands related to recruitment examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC). The delegation also brought up concerns involving the TGT examination and other teacher recruitment examinations.

The protesters have been demonstrating at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium in Ranchi over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations. Among their demands is the cancellation of the 14th Civil Services Preliminary Examination conducted by the JPSC on July 2.

The protesting groups have also sought action over alleged irregularities in several examinations conducted since 2019, along with greater transparency in the recruitment process. Their demands include access to category-wise cut-offs, OMR sheets and response sheets, besides a recruitment calendar on the lines of those followed by the Union Public Service Commission and Staff Selection Commission.

After Aug 8 meeting, Jharkhand Minister Sudivya Kumar Sonu appealed to students and candidates to submit their suggestions and concerns to the government through the email address [email protected]. The government said the feedback would be considered while working on examination-related reforms.

Student representative Chandan Rajak said the government had heard their concerns and that the issues would now be taken up with Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

The students, he said, would wait for a decision before determining whether to withdraw their hunger strike and end the agitation.

The development came as the protest continued at the stadium, with some students on hunger strike facing health problems. Two protesters were taken to Sadar Hospital after their condition deteriorated, while several others were also reported to be unwell.

The first round of talks onAug 7 had also failed to produce a decision on the protesters’ major demands. With both rounds of discussions ending without a final resolution, the students have said they will continue their agitation until the government takes concrete action.

Protesters from the two student groups are also preparing to march towards the Jharkhand Assembly on August 10 as part of their planned agitation.

The government’s outreach through the second round of talks and the feedback mechanism has opened another channel for discussions, but the students’ decision to continue the protest indicates that the key demands remain unresolved.