The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved creation of a National Recruitment Agency (NRA) to conduct an online Common Eligibility Test (CET) for selecting candidates for majority of central government jobs.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the plan to set up a National Recruitment Agency (NRA) on Wednesday. NRA will conduct a Common Eligibility Test (CET) for all non-gazetted posts, including Group B and C (non-technical) jobs.
Here’s all you need to know about National Recruitment Agency test:
- A National Recruitment Agency (NRA) to conduct an online Common Eligibility Test (CET) for selecting candidates for majority of central government jobs.
- The decision will allow job-seekers take one common test and save costs and time spent on writing multiple exam.
- The NRA will set up examination centers in every district of the country
- The NRA will conduct a separate CET each for the three levels of graduate, higher secondary (12th pass) and the matriculate (10 th pass) candidates for those non-technical posts to which recruitment is currently carried out by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), the Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) and by the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS).
- NRA has been envisioned as ‘a specialist body bringing the state of the art technology and best practices to the field of central government recruitment’.
- NRA will benefit around 25 million aspirants who apply for multiple government jobs every year and have to apply for each exam separately.
Here’s how National Recruitment Agency will benefit government job aspirants:
Aspirants do not have to apply and appear separately for multiple recruitment exams. They will be able to apply once for a single or multiple recruitment exams in various departments and take the Common Eligibility Test (CET). CET will be a preliminary level test. Its score will be valid for 3 years. After the CET is conducted, NRA will send the scores of eligible candidates to the respective agencies to continue the recruitment process. So, those who clear the CET will have to appear for the mains or second level of the recruitment.
CET would significantly reduce the lengthy recruitment cycle as some of the recruitment departments have decided to skip their tier -2 or second level test and go ahead with the recruitment based on CET score which will be the preliminary level test followed by physical tests and medical examination. This will reduce the time taken by the agencies to hire the candidates.
CET will be conducted separately for graduate, higher secondary (12th) and matric (10th) levels. Each level of exam will have a common syllabus and will serve as screening (preliminary) test for that level.
Candidates who clear CET once, will be eligible to attempt for the second level exam (mains) thrice (once every year). They will not have to appear for the PT/ screening test again for three years. Currently, those who pass the PT and fail in Main exam (tier 2) have to again appear for the PT next year and start afresh. This way, CET will save their time and energy.
There shall be no restriction on the number of attempts to be taken by a candidate to appear in the CET subject to the upper age limit. Relaxation in the upper age limit shall be given to candidates of SC/ST/OBC and other categories as per the extant policy of the Government.
Candidates will have the facility to give a choice of centers and they would be allotted the chosen centers, based on availability. They will be given an option to schedule their own tests at their choice centers. “The ultimate aim is to reach a stage wherein candidates can schedule their own tests at Centers of their choice,” the press statement reads.
Candidates will not have to incur additional expenses for travel, boarding, lodging to reach their exam centres that are usually far from their home town. Single exam will reduce the financial burden on candidates.
The availability of exam centres in every district would benefit the female candidates as well. Girls generally depend on a guardian (father/brother/ husband) to accompany them in reaching their exam centres if it is far away from their home town. The location of test centres in every district would benefit the candidates, particulary women.
CET would be available in a number of languages, benefiting aspirants from different regions of country. Presently, most of the exams are conducted in English and Hindi languages.
