The movement against the irregularities in DSC–2025 recruitment is intensifying across Andhra Pradesh. Students, youth and unemployed aspirants are demanding that Education Minister Nara Lokesh accept responsibility and resign from his post. Large-scale protests were organised yesterday at all Assembly constituency headquarters under the leadership of the YSR Congress Party. YSRCP has made it clear that the agitation will continue until justice is delivered to DSC candidates.
Against this backdrop, the issues previously raised by YSRCP President and former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy during a media conference on the DSC recruitment irregularities have once again gone viral on social media. During the press conference, he highlighted six key issues.
YS Jagan said suspicious decisions were taken at every stage—from question-paper preparation, conduct of examinations and publication of merit lists to certificate verification, alteration of Sports Quota rules and final appointments. He demanded a comprehensive investigation by an independent agency such as the CBI, stating that the truth would not emerge through an inquiry conducted by State government agencies when the Chief Minister’s own son was heading the Education Department. He said a deeper investigation would expose many more facts.
Irregularities at Every Stage
Normally, SCERT prepares the DSC question papers, while the DSC Convenor supervises the conduct of the examinations. Keeping question-paper preparation and examination management under separate authorities is essential to safeguard confidentiality and transparency. However, in DSC–2025, the Convenor was sidelined and both responsibilities were entrusted to the Director of SCERT. Crucial and highly confidential tasks such as question-paper preparation and digital uploading were handed over to outsourcing employees. Y.S. Jagan said this was where the seeds of the DSC irregularities were first sown.
Top Ranks for an Employee Working in the Examination System
Outsourcing employee Naveen, who worked in the question-paper management process, secured top ranks in the same DSC examination, raising serious questions. He stood first in Krishna district in Social Studies and secured sixth rank in Zone-II in the TGT Telugu examination.
Was it normal for a person working within the examination-management system to secure two top ranks in the same recruitment? Did he gain access to the question paper? How many others received it through him? How many candidates wrote the examination using the leaked paper? These questions must be answered through an impartial investigation.
If he genuinely secured the ranks on merit, why was he denied appointment? The government must explain why his name was removed from the merit list, his candidate ID disappeared and his data was erased.
No Merit Lists; Marks, Ranks and Cut-Offs Kept Secret
In every competitive examination, merit lists, candidates’ marks, ranks and category-wise cut-offs must be disclosed transparently. But in DSC–2025, merit lists were not displayed at District Collectorates. The government did not reveal the marks secured by candidates, their ranks, category-wise cut-offs or how the roster was implemented.
Call letters were issued only to candidates chosen by the government. When aspirants approached Collectorates for clarification, they were directed to the Commissioner’s office; when they went there, they were sent back to the district offices. The entire recruitment process was centralised and confusion was created in the name of an online system.
Why Were Jobs Denied After Issuing 1:1 Call Letters?
Candidates are called for certificate verification in a 1:1 ratio only after examining merit, roster positions and vertical and horizontal reservations. Yet some candidates were denied jobs even after being called against individual vacancies and after their certificates were found valid.
If they were not appointed, why were their names not included in a rejected-candidates list? Why were further “adjustments” made after issuing 1:1 call letters, and for whose benefit were these adjustments carried out?
Y.S. Jagan cited the case of tribal sportsperson Durgaiah, a national-level Archery gold medallist, who was issued a 1:1 call letter and completed certificate verification but was still denied appointment.
Sports Quota Jobs Without Writing the DSC Examination
The government completely changed the rules for filling Sports Quota posts. Under the earlier G.O. No. 74, Sports Quota candidates were also required to write and qualify in the DSC examination. But through G.O. Nos. 4 and 47, the government allowed candidates to secure teacher posts under the Sports Quota without writing the DSC examination.
The quota was increased from two per cent to three per cent, and for certain posts candidates were even allowed to obtain the required degree within five years after joining service. How can candidates be appointed to teach subjects such as Hindi, Mathematics, Science and English without even clearing the minimum DSC qualifying examination? A backdoor was opened only to accommodate favoured candidates.
Deals of Up to ₹20 Lakh for Each Post
The Sports Quota was converted from a system meant to encourage genuine sportspersons into a brokerage network for teacher jobs. Medal-winning athletes were ignored, while posts were given to candidates possessing mere participation certificates.
Appointments were made on the basis of participation certificates for 48 candidates in Ball Badminton, 49 in Kho-Kho, 39 in Judo, 38 in Softball and 13 in Fencing. In all, 270 teacher posts were given to candidates who produced certificates showing participation in inter-collegiate, inter-university and inter-district competitions.
TDP MLA Koona Ravi Kumar heads the Softball Association, while Visakhapatnam MP Bharat, who is related to Nara Lokesh, serves as the Honorary President of the Judo Association. A situation was created where the same associations that issued the certificates also verified them.
G.O. Nos. 4 and 47 were first introduced to facilitate these appointments. After the recruitment was completed, those provisions were withdrawn through G.O. Nos. 23, 25 and 56. Y.S. Jagan questioned whether the earlier G.Os were cancelled only after the government’s purpose had been served.
Videos and audio recordings also surfaced showing Sports Quota posts being negotiated for ₹15 lakh to ₹20 lakh each. In the case registered over the matter, the identities of those involved were concealed, weak sections were invoked and the persons were released on station bail.
All Gates Opened to Appoint Favoured Candidates
The rules were first changed to ensure that favoured candidates received jobs. They were allowed to secure appointments without writing the examination. The same people issued the sports certificates and verified them. After the appointments were completed, fresh G.Os were issued withdrawing the earlier concessions. If this is not a systematic scam, what else is it?
Deception in the Name of ‘Mega DSC’
Of the nearly 16,000 posts included in the DSC notification, around 6,100 had already been notified by the previous YSRCP government. The Chandrababu government cancelled that notification, delayed the process and later included the same posts while branding it as “Mega DSC.”
Y.S. Jagan said the YSRCP government had issued notification for 1.30 lakh Village and Ward Secretariat jobs within 50 days of assuming office and completed the recruitment transparently within four months. Nearly 19 lakh candidates wrote the examinations at 2,800 centres, yet not a single allegation was raised.
Only a CBI Probe Can Bring Out the Truth
A CBI investigation is essential to establish who participated in question-paper preparation, who controlled digital access, how many people received the question paper, who received illegal payments, why merit lists were altered and for whose benefit the Sports Quota rules were changed.
Movement Intensifies for Lokesh’s Resignation
Youth across the State are demanding that Education Minister Nara Lokesh accept moral responsibility for the DSC irregularities. Questions are being raised as to why the government is unwilling to order a CBI investigation if it believes no wrongdoing occurred.
YSRCP has announced that it will continue both the legal battle and the public movement until justice is delivered to DSC candidates. Party leaders warned that the protests would be intensified further if the government failed to respond.
