The controversial Mains exam to select 326 officers of the state administrative services started on Monday here with the shadow of uncertainty clouding the minds of most aspirants over the fate of the otherwise prestigious exam conducted by Jharkhand Public Service Commission dogged by corruption charges.

Over 19,000 aspirants wrote their first day’s language and literature papers at 58 centres under heavy security but many wondered if answering the Mains was of any use in the backdrop of strident student protests in recent months against JPSC’s alleged graft in selecting candidates, Speaker Dinesh Oraon’s impassioned anger on Monday in the Assembly at the government’s silence over the exam, which coincided with Jharkhand High Court’s order that JPSC not declare results without its permission.

The JPSC had initially screened 6,000 eligible Mains aspirants from the December 2016 prelims, but after various changes, the number finally stood at over 34,000. Disgusted students raised questions on the ridiculously large number of candidates. Only 27,000 filled up Mains forms. Of those who did, over 19,000 finally turned up on Monday to answer the exams.

After both the papers were over at 5pm, many rued that though they were answering this exam and had a paper every day for the next four days till February 1, they were aware that JPSC was a discredited organisation.

A cop frisks an examinee at Marwari Girls’ High School in Saheed Chowk. Picture by Manob Chowdhary

A student who did not wish to be named said JPSC made this examination a “free-for-all”. “I am happy with my performance. I’ve worked hard for this. But I am not sure about the fate of my examination in view of what’s happening around me,” he said, referring to Monday’s dramatic developments in the Assembly and high court.

Another aspirant, who identified himself only as Digvijay, said before the examination everybody had been discussing whether the Mains would actually start.

“We were all curious about what the court would do and whether or not the matter would be taken up in the Assembly,” he said.

Another candidate Ashutosh Kumar who came from Delhi to appear in the exam pointed out some questions seemed outdated. One of the topics for essay writing was ‘16 years of Jharkhand’, he said. “Jharkhand is now 18-plus old, the questions must have been set two years ago. I had read all recent developments and policy decisions taken by the government, and here I was being asked to forget two most recent years of the state’s existence,” he said.

Member of Tribal Advisory Council Ratan Tirkey said this wasn’t for the first time that the JPSC examination had landed in a controversy.

“I remember in 2006 I had filed a case against JPSC when it had held an exam to recruit graduate government employees for the posts of block development officers and circle officers. Documents suggesting irregularities at three centres had come to my knowledge. In 2013, the examination was cancelled. I have found no government to be serious about the JPSC. This is like playing with the merit of the state,” he said.

Contacted, JPSC secretary Ranendra Kumar appeared to be relieved that the exam had been peaceful contrary to apprehensions of violence.

“The examination was conducted successfully and peacefully. Attendance was 72 per cent,” Kumar said.