Mizoram govt. orders probe into ‘irregularities’ in civil service exams

Aizawl: The Mizoram government has ordered a probe into the alleged irregularities in competitive examinations conducted by the state recruiting body, Mizoram Public Service Commission (MPSC) following agitation by an apex student body.

In the order issued by the state vigilance department on Monday, former state chief secretary, as well as former MPSC chairman M. Lalmanzuala, has been appointed to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the alleged improprieties in the conduct of combined competitive examination for Mizoram Civil Service, Mizoram Police Service and Mizoram Information Services held in 2023 and in the filling up of post for Mizoram Forest Service.

Lalmanzuala was asked to submit his report within seven days of his appointment.

Due to the gravity of the allegation, Chief Minister Lalduhoma expressed his desire for an inquiry into the veracity of the allegations in line with existing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and rules governing the conduct of such examinations, the order said.

It said that the allegations are not only confined to the misconduct under service law but also appear to involve violations of penal laws, which necessitates a thorough preliminary inquiry to initiate timely action.

Meanwhile, the agitation seeking the resignation of MPSC chairman J.C Ramthanga launched by the state's apex student body Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) entered the second day on Tuesday.

The students have been picketing the MPSC office at the state secretariat complex in Aizawl since Monday demanding the resignation of Ramthanga, who, according to them, was responsible for the irregularities.

MZP president H. Lalthianghlima alleged there were irregularities and abnormalities in the conduct of a combined competitive examination held in October last year as marks obtained by some candidates were altered by evaluators using correcting fluid.

He said that they have also received a plethora of complaints from students about their marks, which indicated irregularities in the examinations.

The organisation's general secretary Chinkhanmanga Thomte also alleged they have evidence of marks obtained being erased and corrected using correcting fluid in answer papers and mark tabulation sheets, which raised concern about the fairness of the commission.

He said that correcting fluid was hardly used in the past and when the evaluator wanted to correct the marks he had already given, he would cancel it with a single stroke of pen and would give the new marks on the answer sheet or tabulation sheet by putting his signature or explanation remarks under the marks.

The student body had asked Ramthanga to take moral responsibility and resign before last week in order to protect the reputation of the commission.

It has also asked the commission to evaluate the answer papers for competitive examinations conducted for filling up three posts for Mizoram Forest Service (MFS).

Earlier, the MPSC had said that it would not evaluate the answer sheets.

Officials of MPSC claimed that marks were never altered (either added or deducted) by the commission.

Normally, answer sheets are used to undergo three-tier evaluation and the evaluators are not allowed to give marks on answer sheets except on tabulation sheets, they said.

However, sometimes, evaluators tend to give marks on answer sheets, which are required to be erased or removed before passing on the answer sheets to the next evaluator, they said.

This is done to ensure independent evaluation, they said.

The marks are given separately by the first and second evaluators on tabulation sheets, and are compared by the third evaluator or scrutinizer, who will allot the final marks after making corrections if the need arises, officials said.

Subsequently, the final marks given by the scrutinizer are carefully examined by the MPSC office after which final tabulation is made, they added.