Mizo students protest outside MPSC office in Aizawl, seek recruitment reforms

Hundreds of members of the Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) on Monday, August 10, staged a demonstration outside the Mizoram Public Service Commission (MPSC) office in Aizawl, demanding reforms in the recruitment process and strengthening of the commission.

The protesters picketed the MPSC office and prevented officials and employees from entering the premises. The demonstration remained largely peaceful, although a brief scuffle broke out between police and some protesters when officials attempted to enter the office.

The MZP has demanded structural reforms and additional manpower for the MPSC, arguing that these measures are necessary to improve the commission’s efficiency and credibility.

The student organisation alleged that administrative shortcomings in recent recruitment exercises had eroded the confidence of job seekers and raised concerns over the commission’s One Time Registration (OTR) system.

The MZP demanded that the existing OTR system be scrapped and replaced with need-based, post-specific application forms.

It also sought a one-time opportunity for candidates whose applications were rejected because of incomplete OTR document uploads to submit the required documents offline. The demand particularly concerns candidates who had cleared written examinations but were later disqualified during document verification.

MZP president Dr C Lalremruata said the organisation would intensify its agitation until its demands were addressed.

The MPSC, however, defended the OTR system, saying it was introduced to simplify the recruitment process and ensure fairness and equality in public employment.

According to MPSC officials, the system allows candidates to enter their personal details and upload essential documents once, with the information automatically retrieved for subsequent applications. They said this reduces repetitive data entry, minimises errors and allows candidates to access application and examination-related information through the portal.

Officials also said OTR systems are widely used by State Public Service Commissions across the country and there was currently no justification for scrapping the system or introducing a separate offline document-submission mechanism.

They warned that accepting the demands could have wider implications, particularly for recruitment processes where appointments have already been finalised.

The MPSC said it processed around 50,000 applications in 2025-26 and had already received more than 20,000 applications in 2026-27.

Officials estimated that around 500 candidates may have been affected by incomplete OTR document uploads or attempts to upload documents after the application deadline.

Some candidates whose applications were rejected over incomplete or late document submissions have approached the Aizawl bench of the Gauhati High Court, officials said. They argued that changing the existing procedure while the matter is pending before the court would not be appropriate.

The MZP said it had been raising concerns with the commission since June last year over difficulties faced by candidates.

While supporting the OTR system in principle, the organisation said the existing mechanism was not sufficiently user-friendly and had created confusion among applicants because of inadequate instructions on document uploads.

The MZP also claimed that some candidates had appeared on valid lists, taken written examinations and even been called for interviews before being rejected during manual document verification because documents uploaded through the OTR system were found to be incomplete.

The student body urged the MPSC to take responsibility for shortcomings in the online system and provide affected candidates an opportunity to rectify document-related deficiencies.

It maintained that candidates should not be made to bear the consequences of failures or limitations in the online recruitment system.