Massive Absenteeism Hits JSSC Field Worker Exam Over Distant Centres and Delayed Admit Card Emails

Nearly 75% of the candidates who applied to take the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission’s (JSSC) Field Worker Recruitment Examination missed the test amid complaints regarding the distance to exam centres and the alleged delay in the email intimation regarding admit cards.

The delayed test took place on July 19. JSSC had advertised 510 Field Worker vacancies in 2024, drawing more than three lakh applicants who waited nearly two years to write the exam.

Attendance was dismal, according to The Indian Express. Only 86,444 of the 3,22,867 registered candidates took the test, representing a mere 26% turnout. The commission uploaded admit cards online a few days before the July 19 exam.

Many applicants from Jharkhand and Bihar complained they received no email alerts, or got them only after the test started. The JSSC stated that all necessary details were published on its portal before the test.

Distant Centres Deter Candidates

One of the candidates who did not write the exam was 26-year-old Lipika Mahapatra from Baharagora in Jharkhand’s East Singhbhum district. She said she was allotted an examination centre in Hazaribagh, over 300 km away, and decided not to appear for the exam. She said she got to know just about four days before the examination that she would have to travel overnight and arrange accommodation at such short notice.

"There was no convenient travel option from my place. Even if I reached Hazaribagh, I would have had to arrange a place to stay and bear the travel expenses. It was simply not possible in three to four days," Mahapatra said.

She found her venue online two days before the test. Her admit card email arrived on July 20, 24 hours after the test ended. "I had prepared well and was depending on this recruitment. Missing the exam meant losing a major opportunity," she said.

Sahibganj resident Rupesh Kumar, 22, faced a similar ordeal. He had registered for the post nearly two years ago but received a test venue in Gumla, roughly 550 km away. His admit card email arrived at noon on July 19, after the test had already started, Kumar said.

"Had I known about the centre earlier, I would have had to leave at least two days in advance because of the distance. By the time I came to know, it was too late...Jharkhand has a poor transportation system, and in such heavy rainfall, many trains were not on time," he said. He said missing the Field Worker examination meant losing an opportunity he had been waiting for since 2024.

Ganesh Kumar Sonkar (21) from Hazaribagh said he was allotted an examination centre in Deoghar, forcing him to skip the exam because he could not afford the travel at such short notice. Unlike some other candidates, Sonkar said he never received an email regarding his admit card. He said he learnt about his allotted centre only after checking the JSSC website a few days before the examination.

"I saw that my centre was in Deoghar. Travelling there at such short notice wasn’t possible. My family could not arrange the money immediately and with the rains, even reaching the railway station was difficult," he said to The Indian Express.

The crisis crossed state borders. Multiple applicants from the neighbouring state of Bihar failed to reach the venues in Jharkhand. They said email alerts for their admit cards arrived only after the test ended.

Systemic Failures and Defense

Online educators tried to assist candidates. Mayank Patel, who operates an internet coaching portal for public sector job seekers, frequently posted video guides and notifications about the test, Patel said.

"The exam was initially scheduled for July 5 before being postponed to July 19. Students also have a responsibility to keep checking the JSSC website. But it is not possible for all students to keep track of a two-year-old vacancy. My [Telegram] channel cannot reach all 3.2 lakh candidates, and many aspirants do not own smartphones or have access to online coaching channels," Patel said.

Patel said the absence of nearly 75% of registered candidates in a recruitment examination conducted after a wait of almost two years reflected a systemic failure as reported.

"This is a huge loss for the students. I have been receiving calls continuously from candidates who missed the exam. One of them was a pregnant woman from Hazaribagh who had prepared for nearly two years," Patel said.

"Her husband works as a migrant labourer outside the state, and she was allotted a centre in another district. Even with three to four days’ notice, it was not possible for her to travel alone. Allotting examination centres in distant districts makes no sense and leaves many candidates helpless," he said.

JSSC Secretary Sudhir Gupta told Indian Express that all examination-related information, including the city intimation slip, admit cards and relevant links, had been uploaded on the commission’s website before the examination.

"Everything was available on the website. Candidates could access the city intimation slip and download their admit cards from there," Gupta said.