Guj clerk posts exam on Nov 17, Class 12 pass eligible: Govt

The Gujarat government on Wednesday said the exam for recruitment of non-secretariat clerks and office assistants, which was earlier cancelled due to changes in the eligibility criteria, will be held on November 17.

The government has also decided to scrap a notification which earlier declared that only graduates were eligible to appear for the exam.

Now, both graduates as well as those who have passed Class 12 can appear for the exam, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel told reporters in Gandhinagar.

The state BJP government came under severe criticism after the exam was cancelled last Friday.

Candidates as well as students' bodies staged protests across the state, demanding reinstatement of the old rule and holding the exam at the earliest.

"Chief Minister Vijay Rupani got representations from various quarters over the issue. We have decided to hold this exam in the interest of the 10 lakh candidates who already registered themselves for the recruitment test," Patel said.

The exam will now be held at over 3,000 centres across the state on November 17.

Over 10 lakh candidates, including those who passed Class 12 and graduates, applied for 3,771 posts of class III non-secretariat clerk and office assistant, Patel said.

The examination, earlier supposed to be held on October 20, was cancelled last week by the Gujarat Subordinate Service Selection Board (GSSSB), citing a change in rules by the General Administration Department (GAD).

As per new rules of the GAD, a bachelor's degree is the minimum educational qualification for these posts and not the higher secondary school (Class 12) certificate.

"We have decided to scrap that GAD notification which had declared that only graduates are eligible to appear for this exam," Patel said.

"Now, both graduates as well as those who have passed Class 12 can appear for the exam on November 17. All the eligible candidates who are already registered can appear for the exam," he added.