SFI stages protest demanding fresh exam for recruiting PDOs

Activists of the Students Federation of India (SFI) staged a demonstration outside the district administrative complex in Kalaburagi on Tuesday demanding re-examination to recruit Panchayat Development Officers (PDOs).

They sought stringent action against those officers responsible for irregularities and negligence in conducting the recruitment examination on Sunday leading to protests by the aspiring candidates.

“The Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) on Sunday conducted the examination for recruiting PDOs in the seven districts of Kalyana Karnataka. The aspiring candidates were provided with question papers and answer books one hour after the commencement of the examination. The exam started at 10 a.m. as scheduled and some of the students got their question papers at 11.30 a.m. This led to protests by candidates in many places. The KPSC should reconduct the examination and take stringent action against the officers concerned for the lapses,” district secretary of SFI Sujata said during Tuesday’s protest.

The agitating activists raised slogans against the KPSC and the State government accusing them of playing with the future of candidates.

“The State government invited applications for the recruitment of PDOs after a long time. Thousands of candidates worked hard to crack the examination. Many of them spent their hard-earned money on expensive coaching centres in Bengaluru, Dharwad, Vijayapura and other places. However, the KPSC, which was supposed to be cautious and responsible in holding the examination, only demonstrated negligence. The officials who failed to discharge their duties should be held responsible for the lapses and booked for dereliction of duty,” a candidate said.

A memorandum was later submitted to the office of the Deputy Commissioner.

Leaders Bharath, Nagamma, Hulagamma, Malashree and a few candidates who attended the PDO recruitment examination were present.

Published - November 19, 2024 07:09 pm IST