Rajasthan CHO exam cancelled, rescheduled amid paper leak concerns

After Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal’s directive, the Community Health Officer (CHO) recruitment exam, scheduled for February, was cancelled. Following the Chief Minister’s order, the Rajasthan Staff Selection Board decided to cancel the exam within 24 hours.
The examination, which was initially cancelled, will now take place on March 3, 2024. This decision comes after reports of leaked viral question papers with 87 identical questions.
Board Chairman Alok Raj stated that a thorough investigation had been ongoing regarding the recruitment examination. Based on the investigation report, the board decided to cancel the recruitment exam to conduct a fresh paper, ensuring fairness for all candidates.
It’s worth mentioning that last year, the recruitment exam took place on February 19 in three districts of Rajasthan: Jaipur, Ajmer, and Kota. Nearly one lakh candidates participated in the exam, which faced controversy as the paper was leaked on social media even before the scheduled start time.
Subsequently, the Rajasthan Staff Selection Board conducted an inquiry into the leaked paper issue. After receiving the investigation report, the board has now cancelled last year’s recruitment exam. The new date for the exam has been set for March 3.
The leaked paper became viral on social media around 7 am on the scheduled exam day. Candidates shared screenshots of the viral paper, and unemployed individuals began demanding the cancellation of the exam.
On February 20, a large number of candidates reached the board’s office to request the cancellation of the paper, showing evidence of the leaked paper to the then Chairman Hariprasad Sharma. Despite the evidence, the then-board chairman did not agree to consider the paper leaked. However, after continued protests from candidates, Hariprasad Sharma assured an inquiry by the Special Operations Group (SOG).
The SOG, after investigating the matter, collected evidence from candidates and confirmed the leak. Despite the discovery of 87 identical questions in the leaked paper, the then-chairman did not acknowledge the paper leak.
Following protests and opposition from candidates, Hariprasad Sharma assured an investigation by the SOG. After collecting evidence from candidates, the SOG confirmed the leak and submitted a report to the board. After the change in government, the controversy around the CHO recruitment gained momentum, leading to immediate action and the cancellation of the exam, with a new date announced.