Paper leak: Why SSC aspirants are protesting

The alleged scam in SSC exams has been making noise on social media for quite a few days now. The mainstream media, however, has been largely silent choosing to focus on Sridevi death "mystery" until Karti Chidambaram was taken into custody.

The main Opposition party, the Congress, is still not out of the Nirav Modi mode (which in its own way is a good thing) while the AAP is busy with assault-gate and IAS officers’ protest. Lost in the din is the voice of the aspirants who are now demanding a CBI inquiry into the alleged SSC scam.

According to the cliff’s notes version of the scam, influential coaching centres have “somehow” managed to get hold of the question paper before the exams and have sold them to the rich and influential leaving the poor students high and dry.

Those involved in the scam have leaked the question paper on Facebook page, SSCtube, with answers which is where the furore over the scam started.

The exams were postponed immediately for a couple of hours, after students started answering the questions for 15 minutes, unfortunately for the board. Those students confirmed that the question paper had leaked before the exam started since the questions asked in the exam were the same.

However, the accusations are not limited to just leaked question paper. There are allegations that people were allowed to take exams from remote locations which again were posted on the Facebook page with pictures of the exam interface (in case you do not know, mobile phones are not allowed in the centre).

While the SSC board cried of mala fide intentions behind the Facebook page and the accusations, it’s difficult to ignore the the images of the interface as well as the question as to why the exams were postponed for two hours. Moreover, what is the justification for the fact that the questions asked in the exam and those on the Facebook page were the same. As is the common practice, the board accused of corruption and scam, investigated the matter and gave itself a clean chit.

The students have now taken to the streets in Delhi after having seen how all their hard work and efforts came to a crashing halt. Their dreams of securing a government job crushed by the rich and influential.

But why should I bother, I wasn’t one of the aspiring candidates? Well, those who clear the exams join government jobs in various capacities across departments. The difference between someone who worked hard for it and someone who bought their way in should be a no-brainer.

So yes, it not only affects the students, but you, me and the country as a whole. If the entry into government jobs is compromised, the service itself gets compromised.

Today, we are at a point where the students are protesting for a CBI inquiry into the alleged scam. The inquiry is beyond doubt necessary to at least reinstate the reputation of the body which is now marred by numerous accusations, if not for cleaning up the system.

Opposition parties have just turned their focus on the scam and have started calling it Vyapam 2.

Since this scam came to light at a time when the Modi government is already facing heat for not being able to keep its word on job creation, the BJP and its leaders should take it more seriously. More so, if it harbours aspirations to stay in power beyond 2019, considering the fact that numerous scams have been unearthed in the past few months with many alleged scamsters fleeing the country.

Also read: Congress wins Madhya Pradesh by-polls: What next for Shivraj Singh Chouhan?