Why Are SSC Aspirants Still Protesting If The Govt Has Agreed To A CBI Probe?

ANI reported on Monday that Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that the Centre has ordered a CBI probe into the alleged Staff Selection Commission (SSC) paper leak.

We have accepted demands of protesting candidates and have given orders for CBI inquiry, protest should now stop: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on alleged #SSCExamScam pic.twitter.com/MU1RcO1KUy

— ANI (@ANI) March 5, 2018

Soon after Congress MP Shashi Tharoor who had been tweeting about the protest and showing support for the students’ cause, said to them, “It is time to acknowledge victory and move on.”

I now urge the protesting students, whom I have supported all the way, to call off their agitation. It is time to acknowledge victory &move on. https://t.co/v9AN7rAFwS

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) March 5, 2018

Earlier today, the Supreme Court accepted a plea seeking an investigation into the alleged scam. The hearing will take place on March 12.

Sounds like good news, and as pointed out by Tharoor – “victory”.

Then why are students still protesting in the heart of the nation?

The answer is precisely explained in this Tweet by Yogendra Yadav:

Govt order needs to be made public, so that we know:
What is the scope of the probe? Limited only to CGL or covers all exams and all forms of irregularities?
Is the inquiry time bound?
Will the SSC continue to hold exams with its dubious practices when the probe is on? https://t.co/R2f8Lzbam9

— Yogendra Yadav (@_YogendraYadav) March 5, 2018

The government has not mentioned the scope of the investigation – if it will cover only SSC CGL or all other exams conducted by the commission.

The protest in Delhi not only includes SSC CGL students but aspirants who have taken other SSC examinations too – SSC CHSL, SSC JE, SSC MTS.

SSC JE (Junior Engineer) 2015 qualified candidates are still waiting to be placed, SSC JE 2016 candidates are waiting for their final results and SSC JE 2017 aspirants have only taken Paper-I, with 2018 in its third month.

The government’s “acceptance of demands” does not answer – how will the March 9 retest be held when the examination itself is under investigation?

The Logical Indian spoke to a member of SSCtube, the page responsible for first bringing out the alleged scam to light, who told us that the aspirants are yet to receive any written assurance.

“What the government has actually said is that they will recommend a CBI investigation to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) which, in turn, will decide if an inquiry is needed or not.”

There is a re-exam of the February 21 mathematics paper scheduled on March 9. The Supreme Court’s hearing is scheduled on March 12, after the re-exam.

“The students are demanding that the current vendor (Sify Technologies) be changed because it is compromised. But the SSC is saying that ‘yes, we will conduct a probe. In the meantime, give the exam.’ The one who is being investigated is also the one conducting the exam,” said the SSCtube member. “Imagine a big tank of water. The tank has a leak. Instead of fixing the leak or changing the tank the government is keeping the motor running and asking people to keep drinking the water.”

What are the students’ demands?

The students peacefully protesting since February 27, sleeping and eating on the road outside CGO Complex in Delhi, are demanding that a time-bound CBI enquiry on the entire alleged scam be conducted under an SC judge. Till now the re-examination of only one paper is scheduled and the reason given was “technical glitch” in the earlier exam. This hardly solves the students’ problems as they want a stay on the ongoing exams till a probe is concluded.

Amidst allegations of remote access of question papers and exams being held at fake centres, the students also demand ground level checking of labs.

Lastly, they want the commission to conduct time-bound selection process as aspirants wait for years to take all the papers or get jobs.

World class examination centres?

SSCtube has been receiving messages from aspirants the past few days, informing of test centres with negligible vigilance in dingy locations.

The Facebook page has uploaded images of these centres, ironically calling them “world class”.

Protesting students have told The Logical Indian that rumours doing rounds in the media are undermining their protest. The government has not really accepted their demands, one of the main ones being changing the current vendor. They want the examinations to not be overseen by Sify Technologies, alleging poor management and corruption.

“In its notification for a CBI probe, the SSC has not specifically taken the name of Sify, just promised that they will conduct a probe on everything, including software audit. There is also no announcement on the cancellation of the March 9 exam,” said the SSCtube member.

The students’ protest has reached pan India to Allahabad, Kolkata and Jaipur. Senior Advocate Prashant Bhushan addressed the students in Delhi today.