Shillong,Oct 3: The health and family welfare department has responded to the allegations on the issue of nurses’ recruitment.
The officials of the department addressed a press conference in this regard on Thursday evening at DHS(MI), in Laitumkhrah.
The full text of the clarification below
Allegations Raised:
The Meghalaya Medical Services Recruitment Board (MMSRB) faced serious allegations concerning irregularities in the recruitment process, including accusations that absentee candidates were shortlisted. These allegations have been categorically denied by the MMSRB.
Recruitment Advertisement: The recruitment was initiated vide Advertisement No. HSM/MMSRB/Nursing/12/24/19 dated 30.07.2024, detailing 164 vacancies for Staff Nurse and 78 vacancies for ANM, including breakdowns per the State Reservation Policy, along with required qualifications and age relaxation provisions.
Application and Eligibility Process: After receiving a total of 5603 applications for Staff Nurse and 706 applications for ANM, admit cards were issued. Importantly, no document verification occurred at the pre written examination stage, in compliance with Office Memorandum No. PER/(AR) 25/2022/Pt/23. This Office Memorandum mandates that document verification be deferred until after candidates have passed the written examination.
Merit-Based Shortlisting: Following the written examination, the MMSRB shortlisted 495 candidates for Staff Nurse and 263 candidates for ANM, based solely on merit. The number of shortlisted candidates was three times the number of vacancies for each category with anticipation that certain number of candidates may not possess proper documentation and also in view of the fact that the Board desires to fill up the entire vacancy within the current year.
Objections and Corrections: After publishing the shortlisted candidates, objections were raised, primarily that the list was not categorized according to the State Reservation Policy. The MMSRB complied with the demands and published a revised list, classified according to categories with marks obtained by each candidate.
Further Disputes: Despite this, further dissatisfaction led to a meeting in the office of the Hon’ble Health Minister. As a result, vide notification dated 30.09.2024 it was decided that the roll numbers and marks of all candidates would be published in descending order, and candidates could file formal complaints with the Grievance Cell. It was reiterated that document verification will be conducted only for those candidates who qualify based on vacancies. In the event of failure to produce required documents, the next candidate based on merit will be considered. Therefore, vide the notification dated 30.09.2024 the published list of the shortlisted candidates was also cancelled.
Some candidates applied in both categories which include the sports category separately. Therefore, separate list under the sports category was also taken out. Hence, the double appearance of some roll numbers. The rectified list was taken out thereafter, however on account of queries still being raised, the Department decided to cancel the list vide notification dated 30/9/2024 to avoid further confusion. The final list after the verification of documents would be taken out as per the existing vacancies. The board further clarified that the Roll No. 1040 appeared twice with two different marks in the earlier list, wherein the same was clarified vide corrigendum dated 01.10.2024. the same was corrected to the effect that the roll No.1040 obtaining 60 marks was to be read as 0140, and the 1040 obtained 58 marks.
The issue was raised by another candidate with the roll no. 0597 from Khasi-Jaintia category for staff nurse, who claimed that she did not appear for the exam but her roll number appeared with the marks obtained. It is being clarified that the same roll no., that cleared the examination is from the ANM category who was a candidate form Garo Category. The concerned candidate has also tendered her clarification on the misunderstanding in writing to the Board.
Fair Process Assurance: The MMSRB concludes by reaffirming their commitment to a fair and transparent recruitment process and reiterates that the appointment of the shortlisted candidates is subject to document verification. A Grievance Cell has also been set up to prevent any miscarriage of justice and any aggrieved candidates may approach the grievance cell. Any further clarifications sought may be taken up with the concerned authorities to avoid hindering the expeditious process of the Board to complete the recruitment in this regard”.
