Job aspirants in Indore on Monday, took to the streets, questioning the result of a government recruitment exam wherein a candidate scored 101.66 marks out of 100. The controversy started from the adoption of the "normalisation" process in the Madhya Pradesh Employees Selection Board's recruitment test for forest and jail departments.

Normalisation is a scoring method that is used for fair scores when exams in the same subject are taken several times but at different difficulties. But the strange occurrence has provoked anger and a cry for fraud among those job hunters.

A group of unemployed youths gathered outside the district collector's office in Indore, demanding answers. The eyewitnesses confirmed that the protestors submitted a memorandum addressed to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, seeking a fair inquiry into the matter.

Gopal Prajapat, one of the protest leaders, said to reporters, "This is the first time in the state's history that a candidate has scored more than the total marks due to the normalisation process adopted in the recruitment exam. We are protesting against the unfair process of normalisation."

Prajapat also raised allegations of malpractice during the examination and demanded proper investigation. The protesters claim that the process is not transparent and may be concealing more serious defects in the recruitment process.

Why was ‘Normalisation’ used?

The results for the Joint Recruitment Examination 2023 (Van and Jail Recruitment Test) were declared on December 13 by the Bhopal-based Madhya Pradesh Employees Selection Board. Following the controversy, the board issued a clarification, stating that the normalisation process was applied according to the rules.

In this process, scores are adjusted to make them comparable across sessions with different question papers. Thus, candidates may sometimes get scores more than the total marks (100) or even below zero.

The protesters, who have raised concerns about fairness, are demanding immediate action. Prajapat warned authorities that if the issue is not addressed promptly, they will intensify their agitation. “If nothing is done in the matter, job aspirants will be forced to launch a bigger agitation,” he said.

This protest is high on the list of growing dissatisfaction among job seekers from Madhya Pradesh, feeling that the system does not provide equal opportunities and a transparent recruitment process.