DH Deciphers | What's the issue with the railway recruitment exam?

Angry job seekers have been protesting in various parts of India against "massive irregularities" in the railway recruitment exam. The protest turned violent last week, and a stationary train and other railway properties were torched in Bihar. The Opposition raised the issue in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, asking the government to come clean on the matter. Here's why a railway exam has snowballed into such a big controversy:

Why is a railway job such a big deal?

With a workforce of 1.2 million, the railways is the largest employer in India. A railway job is highly coveted because it offers decent pay, job security and many perks. Since 2018, the Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) of various railway zones have notified 2,83,747 vacancies and hired more than 1.32 lakh people. At present, the railways is in the process of filling 35,281 vacancies under the Non-Technical Popular Categories (NTPC). Among these vacancies are junior clerk, train assistant, guard, timekeeper and station master.

Around 11,000 of these vacancies require candidates that have passed class 12 while the rest need graduates. A staggering 1.3 crore people applied for these 35,281 jobs. The railways decided to conduct an entrance test, called the computer-based test (CBT) for all candidates.

What's the issue with the exam?

The railways conducted the first round of the entrance test (CBT-1) between April and July last year and declared the results on January 14, 2022. Job aspirants are upset that the test results of different job categories showed the names of the same candidates, effectively excluding many others. They fear that those with higher qualifications will get a shot at jobs meant for those with lower qualifications.

What does the railways say?

According to the railways, the real test will be in the next round of the exam, called CBT-2, which is scheduled for mid-February. CBT-2 will be as per "graded difficulty" whereby every level will have a separate exam fit for that level’s qualification. For instance, in Level 2, which has posts like Junior Timekeeper, Accounts Clerk, etc, the exam will be of a difficulty level meant for class 12 pass candidates. And for Level 5, which has posts like Senior Clerk, Goods Guard etc, the exam will be of a difficulty level meant for graduate aspirants.

What's the problem then?

To ensure more candidates, the railways shortlisted for CBT-2 as many as 20 candidates for each available vacancy. This ratio was 1:15 in 2016 and 1:10 before that. The high ratio meant that for 35,281 vacancies, over 7 lakh applications were shortlisted for CBT-2.

How did that happen?

According to the railways, a class 12 pass candidate, based on their choice and test score, may have been shortlisted for both Level 2 and 3 vacancies. Similarly, a graduate may have been shortlisted for all the vacancies at all levels. That’s how the number of shortlisted candidates for CBT-2 stands at 7,05,446. And the shortlisting is based on applications. This means if person A has applied for Level 2 and Level 5, then, based on the person’s scores, he or she will be counted in both categories when the shortlist is made with 20 times the number of posts. This was done, the railways says, because nothing would have legally stopped a graduate from sitting for an exam meant for a class 12 pass. The actual number of candidates shortlisted for the second round is only 3.84 lakh.

Is the situation hopeless for other candidates?

Not really, according to the railways. While someone shortlisted for CBT-2 at multiple levels may be able to take the tests, that will not translate into that person actually getting multiple jobs.

A committee formed to look into the candidates' complaints has received over one lakh grievances. Its report may be disclosed shortly.

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