After a 24-year-old aspirant to the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) examinations ended his life in Pune, political and student leaders have urged Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to ensure the timely conduct of the exams and provide jobs for unemployed students.
While BJP’s Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis urged Mr. Thackeray to urgently overhaul the MPSC structure, NCP party legislator Rohit Pawar said the MPSC results must be announced soon and the recruitment process streamlined immediately.
Repeated delays
Pune police said the deceased, a resident of the Hadapsar area had reportedly taken his own life on June 30. Officials said in a note left by him, he said his self-confidence had been severely dented owing to repeated delays in the interview process. He also said the MPSC “was an illusion” and urged fellow aspirants not to fall for it. The city police have registered a case of accidental death.
The deceased had successfully cleared the MPSC prelims in 2019, but the pandemic and the subsequent delays on part of the government in completing the interview process frustrated him and made him anxious about the mounting financial burden on his family, said people close to the deceased.
“It is necessary to review the functioning of MPSC as a whole. Many seats are vacant. Exams are late… the deceased aspirant had worked hard and had cleared the MPSC prelims in 2019. But even after nearly two years, he was not appointed by the Commission. Finally, out of desperation, he was compelled to take the extreme step,” said Mr. Fadnavis.
Time-bound process
Mr. Pawar, grand-nephew of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, said it was now imperative that the MPSC exams be conducted on time from here on and the process completed quickly.
“The results must be declared on time and the recruitment process ought to be completed. Pending appointments must be finalized expeditiously… delay is not an option any more. At this rate, students are fast losing faith in the system,” said Mr. Pawar, MLA from Karjat-Jamkhed in Ahmednagar.
BJP Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, Pravin Darekar, blamed the State government’s ‘negligence’ for the mood of despondency prevailing among students.
The family of the aspirant, while blaming government apathy for the plight of MPSC aspirants, said his death ought to be a wake-up call for the MVA government.
Students on edge
Student leader Kuldeep Ambekar, president of the Student Helping Hand, said the confusion over the MPSC examinations for the last 20 months had resulted in a loss of faith in the ruling government and that lakhs of students across Maharashtra were pushed to the edge.
“The uncertainty and mounting debts are now driving students to take their own lives. Will the third wave of the pandemic result in a spree of student suicides? Few MLAs or MPs have bothered to address the problem of MPSC aspirants… endless days in holding exams, pending recruitments has had a severe effect on the mental health of students. Who will take the responsibility for all this,” asked Mr. Ambekar.
He said that the death of the deceased aspirant was no suicide but a case of ‘murder by the system’.
“This is hardly the first case. Thanks to the gross mismanagement of the MPSC and the policy paralysis of the ruling government, the State’s most coveted exams is fast turning to be a vicious cycle for its aspirants,” Mr. Ambekar said.
Sandhya Sonawane, another student leader, said the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns could not be an excuse any more for not completing the recruitment process.
“Students, most of whom are from the rural hinterland, have accumulated heavy financial burdens in the hope of getting a government job which would then enable them to clear their debts… at present, even those who had cleared exams in 2019 are not getting their interview calls. Candidates anxiously await their appointments. All this must stop,” Ms. Sonawane said.
In March this year, following the second wave of the pandemic, the MVA government postponed the MPSC exams for the fifth time in less than 18 months. This had sparked protests across the State, with thousands of aspirants taking to the streets in Pune, Aurangabad and other cities forcing the government to announce fresh exam dates thereafter.
