MPSC aspirants protest in Pune, demands to postpone exams 

Following the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) aspirants in Maharashtra’s Pune, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) MP Supriya Sule met the protesting aspirants on Wednesday, lending her support for the inclusion of 258 posts from the Agriculture Department in the MPSC exam and postponing the exam to avoid a clash with the Institute of Banking Personnel Section (IBPS) exam, to be held on August 25. 

MPSC aspirants started protesting on Tuesday (August 20) from 8 p.m. onwards outside Ahilya Library in Navi Peth, Pune. The protest erupted over a notification from MPSC for conducting the preliminary examination 2024 on 25 August. The aspirants claimed they had been asking the MPSC board to include the 258 positions in the agriculture department for the past three months, but this was unheard of. 

Ms. Sule hearing their demands assured aspirants of taking the matter with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. “I will speak to Mr. Shinde and explain the importance of your demands to him. The exams should be postponed and conducted transparently, as the lakhs of students’ futures depend on this. Also, the government must know paying multiple examination fees is not feasible.”

According to students, these positions were advertised long ago but not included in the ad. Nitin Andhale (28), an MPSC aspirant, said, “Through political leaders, we tried to bring this to their notice, but neglected. This is my last attempt for the IBPS exam; overlapping of exams means missing one of the exams and a year.” For a few students, this is the last attempt; they want to write the exam for 258 seats, as this could be their last chance. 

In a notification issued on August 20, MPSC claimed to have received the government demand letter on August 16 for the Maharashtra Agriculture service posts (group a and b) after the advertisement was published in December 2023 and as it was not included in the ad, so examinations cannot be conducted. Besides, it will incorporate the 258 seats in future examinations as the preparation for the forthcoming examination is completed.