Jharkhand job exam row: Students suspend protest, give government 2-month ultimatum

Successful JSSC-CGL candidates, appointed in various Jharkhand government departments, stage a protest as they block the main gate of the state secretariat, Project Bhawan, in Ranchi, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. Over 2,000 candidates who cleared the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission-Combined Graduate Level examination fear losing their jobs after the state government on Monday night announced cancelling the JSSC-CGL exam. | Photo Credit: PTI

Students protesting against alleged irregularities in Jharkhand recruitment exams on Wednesday suspended their 26-day agitation and gave a 2-month ultimatum to the state government to resolve issues.

The announcement comes a day after the JMM-led government issued notifications cancelling 22 recruitment exams and ordering a probe into 23 others conducted by the state public service commission and an outsourced agency since 2014.

“We are now suspending the stir and giving a two-month ultimatum to the government to resolve the issues and conduct a fair probe into recruitment exam irregularities,” said a leader of the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch.

The manch, which led the students’ agitation at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium here, said three protesters - Rupesh Kumar Pal, Savita Kumari, Rahul Kranti - ended their 15-day fast on Wednesday.

Manch leader Ravindra Paswan said, “The 26-day protest by students forced J’khand government to cancel 22 recruitment exams and launch a probe into 23 others.” Spokesperson Piyush Kumar Singh said if issues remain unresolved, they would be forced to relaunch a massive agitation.

Meanwhile, the cancellation of examinations triggered panic among candidates who successfully cleared these examinations and joined various government departments.

Among the cancelled exams is the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission - Combined Graduate Level (JSSC-CGL) examination, prompting successful candidates to hit the streets.

The decision, announced after a cabinet meeting on Monday and followed by eight notifications issued late Tuesday night, covers recruitment examinations for several key administrative, technical and judicial posts. JLKM leader Devendra Mahto, who ended a 16-day hunger strike following the government’s announcement, has said that he would soon launch a second phase of agitation.

Mahto has demanded guarantees that future JPSC and JSSC examinations will be “free from paper leaks and other irregularities”, besides seeking a monitoring committee and a comprehensive audit of the recruitment process.

The cancelled examinations include recruitment for drug inspectors, assistant professors in government engineering and medical colleges, lecturers in government polytechnics, senior scientific officers, assistant conservators of forests and forest range officers.

The list of cancelled tests or examinations being probed also includes various editions of the Jharkhand Combined Civil Services Examination, and tests for recruitment to food safety officers, child development project officers, food analysts, deputy director (prosecution), project managers, inspectors of factories and boilers, agriculture officers, geologists and chemists and other administrative and technical posts.