Agartala, Oct 30: Allegations of a paper leak have sparked outrage among job seekers who appeared for the recent optometry recruitment examination conducted by the Health Department. On Thursday, a group of candidates submitted a deputation to the Director of Health Services, demanding the immediate cancellation of the exam and the conduct of a fresh, transparent test.
The protest comes after screenshots of question papers with marked answers went viral on WhatsApp just days after the examination. According to the candidates, nearly 70–80 percent of the circulated content matched the actual questions that appeared in the test, raising serious doubts about the integrity of the recruitment process.
Candidates also pointed out several irregularities during the examination. They alleged that no question papers or OMR carbon copies were returned after the test, preventing them from verifying their responses. Furthermore, multiple questions reportedly contained errors, incomplete options, and discrepancies, which, according to the aspirants, compromised the exam’s credibility.
Some participants further claimed that OMR sheets were not distributed uniformly across centers, and that many questions seemed to have been sourced from online PDFs and publicly available materials, suggesting a lack of proper standardization in the question-setting process.
After submitting the deputation, the candidates addressed the media, urging authorities to launch a thorough investigation into the alleged leak. They demanded that the exam be scrapped entirely and a fresh recruitment test be held under strict supervision to ensure fairness and transparency.
The aspirants emphasized that the recruitment process must uphold merit and integrity, adding that any negligence or malpractice not only affects deserving candidates but also undermines public trust in government examinations.
