Adivasi Student Body Demands Faster Recruitment and Language Inclusion in Exams

Ranchi’s State Guest House was the venue for a crucial dialogue on Saturday between Jharkhand’s ministers and a delegation of the Adivasi Student Union (ASU). Heading the delegation, Dr. Sushil Kumar Minj, alongside university committee member Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, presented a comprehensive set of demands focused on the JPSC and JSSC examination systems.

The union’s agenda covered a variety of issues: the need for a transparent and expedited recruitment process to fill the current backlog of vacancies, the call for a judicial inquiry into alleged irregularities in the JPSC/JSSC exams, and the push for stricter penalties against any officials found culpable.

ASU also advocated for the integration of tribal and regional languages into the JPSC examination framework, proposing that language papers become compulsory and carry higher weightage. Additionally, they sought the maintenance of tribal language courses at Ranchi University and the immediate cessation of the cluster system governing language instruction.

State ministers Deepika Pandey Singh, Sudivya Kumar Sonu, Chamra Linda and others listened to the concerns and assured that the government would act on each point. They emphasized plans to prioritize local tribal candidates in upcoming recruitment drives, thereby addressing the long‑standing grievance that non‑tribal applicants often dominate state job listings.

The delegation underscored Jharkhand’s Fifth Schedule status and highlighted the persistent lack of adequate employment for tribal youth. They called for robust safeguards in the planning and recruitment processes to protect local interests and ensure equitable access to public service roles.

The dialogue ended on a constructive note, with the government committing to introduce concrete measures that would enhance exam transparency, accelerate hiring, and promote the use of indigenous languages in academic curricula.