The latest agitation in Andhra Pradesh over the alleged discrepancies in the “mega” District Selection Committee (DSC) teacher recruitment drive has brought job aspirants and young people onto the streets, with protesters demanding accountability from the government and action against those they hold responsible.
The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) held a statewide bandh on Monday and has stepped up its campaign, demanding a CBI inquiry into the recruitment process and the resignation of Education Minister Nara Lokesh, who is also the TDP national general secretary and the son of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
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How did the controversy start?
After taking charge of Andhra Pradesh in 2024, Naidu cancelled an existing recruitment drive for 6,100 teachers and announced a “mega” recruitment exercise.
Nearly 10 months later, on April 20 last year, the TDP-led NDA government notified 16,347 teacher posts. Around 3.36 lakh candidates applied. The computer-based examination was held between June 6 and July 2, following which 15,941 posts were filled.
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The recruitment process soon became controversial with at least 350 cases filed in courts, while several aspirants took to the streets alleging irregularities in the examination and selection process.
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The protests have continued, with the YSRCP describing the agitation as Andhra Pradesh’s “Gen Z protest”. (Photo: YSRCP)
The protests have continued, with the YSRCP describing the agitation as Andhra Pradesh’s “Gen Z protest”.
What are the alleged discrepancies?
The DSC convener traditionally conducted the examination, while questions were set by the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT).
The YSRCP has alleged that the Naidu government sidelined the DSC convener and entrusted both the conduct of the examination and the setting of question papers to the Director of SCERT, raising questions over transparency.
Candidates have also alleged that the preparation and uploading of question papers were entrusted to outsourcing or contract employees.
One such contract employee, P Naveen, secured the first rank in the Social Studies category in Krishna district and sixth rank in Zone II in the Trained Graduate Teacher Telugu examination, according to the allegations.
Another SCERT contract employee who reportedly secured a top rank was later removed from the merit list. The government has not provided an explanation for the removal, the candidates allege, and the employee has approached court.
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A second major complaint relates to the centralisation of the recruitment process.
Candidates have alleged that, unlike previous DSC recruitments, marks, ranks, cut-off scores, roster positions and merit lists were not made publicly accessible at the district level. Instead, the process was centralised, with communication largely restricted to online updates and messages sent to selected candidates.
Candidates have also alleged that the preparation and uploading of question papers were entrusted to outsourcing or contract employees.(Photo: YSRCP)
Some aspirants have also alleged that they received call letters and underwent certificate verification but were subsequently left out of the final selection list.
Sports quota controversy
The sports quota has emerged as one of the most contentious aspects of the recruitment process, particularly because several TDP leaders head sports organisations in the state.
The YSRCP and protesting candidates have alleged that sportspersons selected under the meritorious sports persons (MSP) category were exempted from taking the DSC written examination.
According to the Opposition, this allowed some candidates to secure regular teaching posts on the strength of their sports credentials rather than their performance in the teacher recruitment examination.
The YSRCP has described the sports quota as a “backdoor” route into government teaching jobs and alleged that it undermined merit.
Anigi Durgayya, a national-level archery gold medallist from Andhra Pradesh, has also alleged that he was denied appointment despite receiving a call letter.
There are currently 69 court cases relating to sports quota appointments alone, according to the allegations raised by the protesters.
What does the government say?
The government has rejected the allegations and said the recruitment was conducted transparently through a computer-based testing system.
It has pointed to multiple technological safeguards, including encrypted systems, restricted-access protocols, randomised question-paper allocation and examinations conducted across multiple sessions.
The government has also said that different question papers were administered in different sessions, making a paper leak technically impossible.
On the allegation involving Naveen, the government has clarified that he was not entrusted with any responsibility relating to question-paper preparation, examination management, evaluation, normalisation or preparation of the merit list.
The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) held a statewide bandh on Monday and has stepped up its campaign. (Photo: YSRCP)
On allegations that names were deleted from the merit list, the government has said there were no such deletions at any stage.
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On candidates who received call letters but were not ultimately selected, the government has said certificate verification was only a provisional stage intended to establish eligibility.
It has also defended the district-level verification process, saying committees physically checked original certificates, reservation claims, eligibility conditions, local status and supporting documents before final selections were made.
The government has similarly denied wrongdoing in the sports quota recruitment.
It has said the MSP selections were made in accordance with GO MS number 77, which provides 3% horizontal reservation for eligible sportspersons in direct recruitment without a written competitive examination.
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The political fallout
The controversy has increasingly turned into a political battle between the ruling NDA government and the YSRCP.
The Opposition has focused particularly on Lokesh, demanding his resignation and a CBI inquiry into the recruitment process.
Lokesh, meanwhile, has rejected the Opposition’s characterisation of the agitation, saying young people are not behind the protests and alleging that the YSRCP is propping up the agitation.