The second phase written test of Assam Direct Recruitment Examination (ADRE), 2024, for Grade III posts will be conducted across the state on Sunday, with special arrangements in place to ensure its smooth and transparent conduct, an official statement said.
The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) will be running six pair of special trains to facilitate candidates appearing for the examination, NFR authorities added. The first phase of written examination for Grade III posts under ADRE was held on September 15 with mobile internet services suspended across the state for over three hours to ensure fair and transparent examination.
About 18.50 lakh candidates have applied for the various classes of Grade III posts.
Examination for bachelor degree level posts and HSLC level (driver) posts of Grade III will be held in the second phase, for which admit cards with instructions for the candidates have already been issued, the statement said.
It said some additional/ revised instructions have now been issued, including advising candidates to verify the location of the examination centre a day in advance and report at least one-and-half-hour before the commencement of the examination for thorough checking and frisking.
It further said the Home and Political Department has issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) for frisking candidates. The SOP comes following allegations of improper frisking of female candidates during the first phase of the examination, with many women claiming that female security personnel touched their private parts.
For female candidates, there will be separate enclosures with one Anganwadi worker/ helper or ASHA worker to be present near the frisking area. In case of improper frisking, the candidate should immediately report to the centre in-charge, the statement said.
For speedy frisking, candidates have been advised to wear half-sleeve attire and slippers instead of shoes. Candidates will be permitted to take their question booklet after the examination, and senior level officers have been deputed as central observers for smooth conduct of the examination, the statement added.
An NFR release said that six pairs of examination special trains for the help of candidates appearing for ADRE on Sunday are being run. The six special trains will undertake 12 trips to facilitate to and from journey of the candidates.
Written tests of ADRE for Grade IV posts of two different educational levels will be conducted on two other dates, official sources had said earlier. About 13.70 lakh candidates have applied for different Grade IV posts, they added.
The first ADRE under the State Level Recruitment Commission was conducted in the state in August 2022, when mobile internet services were suspended for four hours in nearly all the districts on the two days then the written tests were held.
Assam administration issues guidelines for exam
The Assam administration issued guidelines for the government recruitment examination, scheduled on Sunday. “The candidates were advised to reach the exam hall at least one-and-half-hour before the examination. To quickly finish frisking, candidates should wear half-sleeved shirts and sandals instead of shoes. The water bottles can be carried in the examination hall, however, there should not be any stickers on the body of the bottle and the bottles must be transparent ones,” an official said on Saturday.
To recall, the state government held another similar examination on September 15 where more than 11 lakh candidates appeared across 2,360 test centres across the state.
However, a controversy erupted during the previous examination when a female aspirant complained that at the time of frisking, a woman constable touched her private parts which prompted CM Sarma to order a probe into the whole incident.
He immediately ordered an inquiry under the Director General of Police and the Chief Minister reiterated that he gives the highest preference for the dignity and respect of women; this is a non-negotiable thing.
According to the official, ASHA or Anganwadi workers will also be present during the frisking of women aspirants this time. If any female aspirant feels anything wrong during frisking before entering the examination hall, she can report it to authorities.
“We have been taking all measures to keep recruitment examination fair and transparent. The machinery has been put in place to maintain the sanctity of the examination with additional vigilance to foil any attempt of adopting illegal practices in the exercise,” the official added.
The senior officials of the state government, including police officials, were present in the meeting along with some cabinet ministers.
