Explained: The Railways Exam Controversy, Its Fallout & the Official Response

Results for the Computer Based Test-1 of the Railway Recruitment Board’s NTPC were made public on 15 January.

Results for the Computer Based Test (CBT)-1 of the Railway Recruitment Board’s Non-Technical Popular Category (NTPC), as well as the shortlist for candidates picked for the CBT-2 were made public on 15 January.

The declaration of results led to violent protests by job-seeking students, who alleged that there were discrepancies in the shortlisting process and that a new round of examinations had been added. In response to the grievances, on Wednesday, 26 January the Railway Ministry suspended the NTPC and Level 1 exams.

From the recruitment process and the controversy surrounding it to the subsequent protests and the government's response to the situation, here is all you need to know.

The Recruitment Process

Around 1.25 crore candidates had applied for the exams that had advertised availability of over 35,000 posts in the Railways sector, spanning levels 2 to 6. The pay range of these posts began from Rs 19,900, and went up to Rs 35,400 per month.

Approximately 60 lakh students had taken the exams, which were conducted in seven phases, between 28 December 2020 and 31 July 2021.

After results were declared on 14 January, concerns were raised by many candidates over the shortlisting process, with the aggrieved persons claiming there was never supposed to be a second round of examinations.

The Railways Ministry released a press statement addressing the grievances – which has however now been removed from the official website. According to NDTV, the press release had said:

"The procedure for shortlisting of candidates for the second stage computer based test (CBT) had already been given elaborately under Para 13 of the original notification published on 28.02.2019....Every candidate was free to opt for all or any of these thirteen categories subject to conditions of eligibility."

It further read, "While the first stage CBT was a common examination for all the candidates, Para 13.2 of the notification clearly states that in the 2nd stage CBT there would be a separate examination for each group (viz., Levels 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) with differing graded levels of difficulty."

The release also noted that the shortlist after CBT-1 contains around 7 lakh roll numbers – which is 20 times the notified vacancies.

The Controversy

The job aspirants, meanwhile, are resisting the two-stage selection process, claiming that the second stage is synonymous to "cheating" those aspirants who have cleared the first stage of the NTPC.

They claim that a second qualifying exam was not mentioned in the examination notification.

Further, it is being alleged that the exam is designed to favour those with a higher qualification, even for jobs that require lesser qualification.

"There was only one examination mentioned in the RRB notification 2019. Now, the RRB has issued fresh notifications, where it has mentioned two examinations. Many of the selected candidates are disqualified in the second examination. This is complete cheating by the RRB. Its officials are playing with the futures of the students," IANS quoted Andhir Sahay, a student protesting at Rajendra Nagar Terminal in Patna.

The Fallout: Where the Protests Turned Violent & What Happened

In this backdrop, students took to the streets in Bihar and a passenger train was set on fire, and another was attacked with stones in Bihar on Wednesday, 26 January, as protests against the two-exam policy intensified.

News of statewide demonstrations surfaced online from districts of Patna, Nawada, Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi, Buxar and Bhojpur, The Wire reported.

The reports came a day after anguished aspirants had stopped the passage of various trains, including Rajendra Nagar-New Delhi Tejas Rajdhani Express, Sampoorna Kranti Express, and South Bihar Express.

Passage of approximately 25 trains was affected on the arterial Kolkata-Delhi line on the East Central Railway (ECR) zone.

In Patna, a large number of students had also assembled at the Fatuha railway station and stopped a goods train.

Meanwhile, in Prayagraj, the Uttar Pradesh Police arrested two people and lodged a case against nearly 1,000 unidentified persons for allegedly setting fire to a railway track.

Following this, videos showing several policemen brutally thrashing unidentified persons with lathis emerged on social media, eliciting both support and denunciation from officials.

The Government's Response

Amidst escalating discontent, the Railways Ministry issued a notification on Wednesday, declaring the formation of a 'high-power committee', to look into the concerns and doubts raised by the aspirants.

The notice stated that the committee will be headed by Deepak Peter, the Principal Executive Director (Industrial Relations) of the Railway Board.

The candidates can lodge their grievances and suggestions with the committee at [e-mail] within three weeks, till 16 February, the notice reads.

"Candidates are given three weeks' time, up to 16.02.2022, to submit their concerns, and the committee, after examining these concerns, will submit its recommendations by 04.03.2022," reads the notice.

Additionally, the Union Ministry also suspended the NTPC 2021 exam, a day after issuing caution to students, alleging acts of vandalism and violence. The statement dated 25 January had warned students of being blacklisted from being employed in a railways job.

"RRB NTPC protest videos will now be examined by the Ministry with the help of specialised agencies. Upon proper examination, those found in indulging in any of the mentioned activities will be penalised accordingly. They will be liable to both police action as well as lifetime debarment from a Railway job," the statement had read.