The so-called “Mega DSC,” projected by the coalition government as a landmark recruitment drive for unemployed youth, has now turned into one of the most controversial recruitment exercises in Andhra Pradesh. What was promoted as a job festival has instead become synonymous with paper leaks, deleted data, hidden merit lists, fake sports certificates, and allegations of large-scale corruption. Questions are now being raised across the state over whether the coalition government conducted a genuine recruitment drive or orchestrated a massive fraud targeting lakhs of unemployed youth.
The controversy has intensified after serious allegations emerged from the Education Department headed by Nara Lokesh. Even as reports of irregularities continue to surface, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has maintained silence, while Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan — who entered politics claiming he would “question injustice” — has also remained silent. Critics within YSRCP describe the entire exercise as a “Dark Operation” carried out under Lokesh’s department while unemployed youth were misled with promises of transparent recruitment, job calendars, and unemployment allowances.
From the very beginning, the Mega DSC process has been clouded by suspicion. The government abruptly replaced the original TET Convener and handed both TET and DSC responsibilities to the SCERT Director, concentrating the entire process under one authority. More controversially, an outsourced computer operator working at SCERT, identified as Naveen, was entrusted with handling DSC question paper preparation and online processing despite also appearing for the same examination. He later emerged as a DSC topper, triggering massive outrage and allegations of paper leakage and manipulation. Subsequent deletion of his details from databases and removal of merit lists from the website only deepened public suspicion.
The recruitment process itself has come under severe criticism for lack of transparency. Instead of publicly releasing merit lists and rankings, the government privately sent SMS messages only to selected candidates. Candidates alleged that marks changed repeatedly, English Proficiency Test data disappeared from the website, and call letters were issued selectively under the guise of “testing messages.” Allegations are also emerging that teacher posts were sold for lakhs of rupees, with sports quota appointments becoming a major centre of controversy.
The sports quota recruitment process has sparked even greater outrage, with allegations that fake sports certificates, fabricated birth dates, and manipulated credentials were used to secure jobs for ineligible candidates with political backing. Screening committees are accused of functioning under ruling party influence while genuine sportspersons were sidelined. Audio recordings circulating publicly suggest negotiations of nearly Rs.15 lakh per post, with agents openly discussing secret meetings and financial settlements for securing teacher appointments.
The issue has also reignited comparisons with the previous Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy government, which filled more than 1.26 lakh village and ward secretariat jobs through a single transparent notification purely on merit and written examinations, without recommendations or corruption. Supporters argue that while those recruitments were completed transparently in record time, the present DSC process has become a symbol of confusion, manipulation, and mistrust.
YSRCP president and former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has directly questioned the coalition government over the entire controversy, asking whether this was truly a “Mega DSC” or a “Mega Betrayal” of unemployed youth. He demanded answers over paper leaks, deletion of data, disappearance of merit lists, and the removal of topper details from official records. He also questioned why only selected candidates received direct messages while public selection lists were never displayed at Collector offices. Raising concerns over reports that sports quota posts were negotiated for nearly Rs.15 lakh each, he asked whether the recruitment process had turned into an auction system benefiting politically connected middlemen.
With pressure mounting across the state, demands are growing for either a CBI inquiry or an investigation by a sitting High Court judge into the entire Mega DSC recruitment process. Unemployed youth and opposition leaders are demanding that the government immediately reveal the full truth behind what is increasingly being described as a “Mega Leak” and “Mega Corruption” scandal rather than a Mega DSC recruitment drive.
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