[Bengia Ajum]
ITANAGAR, 2 Sep: With the state government issuing a notification prescribing fresh eligibility criteria for government jobs in the state, the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) has resumed the recruitment process that was earlier halted.
Recently, the government issued a notification for direct recruitment, making it compulsory for candidates to possess a valid Permanent Residence Certificate (PRC) of Arunachal Pradesh, hold an Arunachal Pradesh Scheduled Tribe (APST) Certificate, and be able to speak any of the indigenous tribal languages of the state.
Following this, the commission on Tuesday issued an advertisement for the recruitment of Group A and B technical posts, including Agriculture Development Officer, Horticulture Development Officer, Veterinary Officer, Assistant Director (Sericulture) and Dairy Development Officer.
"Based on the new eligibility criteria, we have advertised these posts. We were waiting for the notification, and now that it has been issued, we have started the recruitment process, which was halted for some time," said APPSC chairman Dr. Pradip Lingfa.
He further informed that the much-awaited Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Combined Competitive Examination (APPSCCE) notification will be issued shortly.
"We have sought clarification on certain points from the department. The advertisement will be notified soon after receiving clarification from the Personnel Department. In September, we will issue the notification for the examination," said Dr. Lingfa.
He also informed that, for moderation of optional subjects, a reputed government agency has been tasked with developing a normalisation methodology.
"Once finalised, the methodology will be applied to the Mains Examination of APPSCCE and to other examinations in which candidates have to choose from multiple optional subjects," he added.
Urging aspirants not to believe rumours, Dr. Lingfa said only merit would ensure success.
"People keep trying to confuse aspirants with all kinds of rumours on social media. I appeal to aspirants to trust their ability and leave the rest to us. We at the commission pride ourselves on conducting free and fair examinations," he added.
He further informed that the commission has adopted several new initiatives to bring greater transparency and accountability to the examination process.
"We have started coding candidates during the viva voce to conceal their identities from the panellists. There will be no possibility of favouritism, as candidates will be identified only through codes," said Dr. Lingfa.
The commission appoints independent observers and coordinators from among senior government officers to monitor the examination and scanning processes, as well as the transportation of sensitive examination materials to each examination centre/venue.
"Apart from this, biometric enrolment of every candidate appearing in the examination is done. Installation of jammers at each examination centre during the examination, mandatory video recording of the handling of sensitive materials at examination centres/venues and Strong Rooms are some more of our new initiatives," he added.
The provisional answer keys are uploaded on the commission's website, inviting candidates to challenge them.
"Results are evaluated only after reviewing the challenges received through the answer-key challenge process and finalising the answer key. The OMR response sheet used in the State Services Examination is in triplicate-one original copy for scanning, one copy for the Commission and one copy for the candidate," said Dr. Lingfa.
He also informed that the commission has proposed clubbing different examinations and conducting a combined examination for posts having similar examination schemes.
Dr. Lingfa further informed that, to build confidence among aspirants, the commission has conducted outreach programmes at various educational institutions across Arunachal Pradesh.
"We have also visited various Public Service Commissions across India, including the UPSC, to learn best practices and conduct the best possible examinations," he added.