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Cabinet Approval for NRA CET ( Common Eligibility Test )
The Union Cabinet under the guidance of PM Narendra Modi has given its nod for the creation of a National Recruitment Agency to streamline the hiring process by conducting a common eligibility test. The CET will replace the 1st level tests conducted by the three agencies namely Staff Selection Commission (SSC), the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB), and the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) for the recruitment to Group B and C non-gazetted posts.
The Preliminary exam for all non-gazetted posts will be common from now on and candidates qualifying the common eligibility test will be eligible to apply for the higher level of examination. The test scores will be valid for a period of three years and there will be no bar in the number of attempts by a candidate. Around 2.5 crore aspirants appear for separate recruitment examinations every year for selection to around 1.25 lakh government jobs. In order to ease the recruitment process, the step has been taken by the government.
What is the National Recruitment Agency and how will it function?
A National Recruitment Agency will be formed that would conduct a single computer-based examination for the recruitment in non-gazetted government posts from 2021. The agency will be responsible for conducting the Common Eligibility Test for selection to government jobs. Currently, multiple exams are being conducted for over 2.5 crore candidates each year. The recruitment process takes approx 18 months and more to complete one cycle. The implementation of CET will provide a level playing field for all candidates and will be treated as a preliminary examination for specialized posts.
Under the new system, candidates would be required to apply through a common portal and prepare from a common curriculum. A standardized question paper with multiple questions of similar difficulty levels will be set in a central server. The Scores of the candidates will be generated quickly in this process, delivered online, and will be valid for a 3-year period. The exam will be held once a year as of now. NRA is aimed at reducing the burden on candidates to appear for multiple examinations.
List of Exams that NRA will conduct
The National Recruitment Agency will initially aim at replacing the preliminary exams of 3 agencies namely Staff Selection Commission (SSC), the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) and the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS). This means that aspirants will have to prepare for a single preliminary examination for all the exams conducted by these three agencies namely SSC CGL, CHSL, IBPS Clerk, RRB NTPC etc. The exact details regarding the posts to be notified under CET is yet to be declared.
CET Exams by NRA- Exam pattern & guidelines
Some of the points regarding CET guidelines highlighted by the Department of Personnel & training includes:
- A Standard curriculum will be followed for the CET along with a standard degree of difficulty level.
- The exam will be conducted in multiple Indian languages.
- CET score will act as a preliminary score and the final selection will be made through separate Tier 2/Tier 3 examinations to be conducted by the respective recruitment agencies.
- CET score will be valid for 3 years and the best score during the 3 years will be taken into consideration.
- No restriction on the number of attempts by the candidate.
- Candidates can schedule tests and choose the exam centre of their choice
- CET scores can be shared with the Central Govt, State govt, UTs, PSUs and private sector
- CET will be conducted at over 1000 centres and every district will have at least one exam centre.
Union Budget 2020
Union Budget 2020 was presented by the Union Minister of Finance, Nirmala Sitharaman on 1st Feb 2020 where the allocation to different sectors was provided based on the expenditure and income of the government. The education sector was allotted Rs 99,300 crore for FY 2020-21 and Rs 3,000 crore for skill development. The Finance Minister in her speech proposed the idea of some of the major reforms in the recruitment of non-gazetted government posts. This step is being taken to mitigate the hardships faced by the students in appearing for multiple exams. As per the ministry, the CET will save time and efforts of the students planning to be appointed in Group B and Group C posts. It will also save the money spent by candidates in filling up ‘n’ number of posts.
