Candidates at the exam centre (ETV Bharat)
Kanpur: A commotion erupted during the Staff Selection Commission’s GD Constable recruitment exam, being held at Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur on Monday.
The exam was cancelled at the Shrimati Ramkali Iqbal Bahadur Online Centre in Purvameer under Maharajpur police station area. It all started with overcrowding at the centre where more than double the candidates who could be accommodated were called to take the exam. The situation worsened as candidates slated to appear the exam in the second shift started arriving at the centre.
The overcrowding and commotion irked the candidates who attempted to block the Kanpur-Prayagraj National Highway. As the situation worsened, the SSC staff at the centre announced the cancellation of both exam shifts with immediate effect.
A technical issue was cited as the reason for the exam’s cancellation. According to police officers who rushed to the centre, the actual capacity of the exam centre was only 398 seats per shift. The exam was scheduled to be held in two shifts on the day, with the first shift from 2 to 3 pm and the second from 4:30 to 5:30 pm.
Due to a server glitch, admit cards were issued to 819 candidates for the first shift, against the 398 seats available. As many as 350 students had been seated at the centre for the first shift. As the number of students increased, chaos ensued. The centre in-charge calmed everyone and conducted a headcount, revealing a total of 819 candidates seated inside and standing outside with their admit cards.
The centre management contacted SSC officials, and received instructions to cancel the exam. Irked by the mismanagement, candidates attempted to block the Kanpur Prayagraj National Highway, but were stopped by police.
The notice issued by SSC (ETV Bharat)
Examination centre in-charge Mohammad Mufeed and City Head Shubham Dixit said the chaos was the result of a technical glitch in the server. “The SSC’s online system allocated 841 seats to this centre, which had a capacity of 350. The number of candidates arriving at the center was equal to the number of admit cards issued from headquarters. Due to the limited capacity, chaos prevailed at the centre. The re-examination will be conducted only after the new dates are released on the SSC’s official portal,” they said.
DCP East Satyajeet Gupta said he along with a team of police personnel rushed to the centre on being informed of the commotion. “The law and order situation arose due to the centre’s limited capacity and a large number of candidates arriving due to technical reasons. Keeping the candidates’ safety in mind, the exam for both shifts has been cancelled. The exam will now be conducted afresh, and the new schedule will be uploaded on the SSC website soon,” he said.
Meanwhile, a few students from remote areas have demanded a refund of their fare, regarding which the SSC is formally corresponding with the higher officials of the GD department, said an official.
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