Srinagar, Aug 24 (JKNS): Minutes after the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) announced the cancellation of the Junior Engineer (Electrical) examination, emotional scenes were witnessed at Kothibagh Higher Secondary School in Srinagar, one of the designated exam centres.
The exam, already marred by allegations of paper leak and mismanagement, had sparked day-long protests across the city.
Candidates as per news agency JKNS alleged the paper had been leaked on Telegram and WhatsApp groups before the test began, while videos surfaced showing students filling OMR sheets with mobile phones in their hands inside exam halls.
At Kothibagh, a young aspirant from Handwara, namely Muzamil, broke down before reporters in a video that has since gone viral on social media. His words struck a deep chord with many, reflecting the pain of Kashmir’s unemployed youth.
“They gave us 15 questions and suddenly told us to return the papers, saying a landslide had occurred somewhere. If there was a landslide, the administration could have found an alternative. Why was our paper taken back after we had already seen it? Later, we were asked to return and continue the exam—how can we?” he asked with visible anger and grief as per news agency JKNS.
Muzamil recalled the sacrifices he made to prepare. “For the past two years, I haven’t played a single cricket match, though cricket runs in my blood. I gave it all up, dedicated myself entirely to this exam, hoping to support my parents. And today, this is what I faced.”
Fighting tears, he went on, “The system is full of betrayal—government, JKSSB, bureaucrats, all of them. There is no transparency, no accountability. When I return home, the children will ask how the exam went. What should I tell them—that it was never an exam at all?”
His emotional testimony has resonated widely online, with many netizens calling it a mirror of the frustration and despair faced by thousands of job aspirants in Jammu and Kashmir.
The JKSSB, after protests and widespread outrage, cancelled the OMR-based written examination for the JE (Electrical) posts in the Power Development Department, promising to announce fresh dates soon. (JKNS)
