Aizawl: Hundreds of students affiliated with the Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) staged a demonstration outside the Mizoram Public Service Commission (MPSC) office in Aizawl on Monday, demanding reforms in the commission’s administrative and recruitment processes.
The protesters picketed the MPSC office and prevented officials and staff from entering the premises. The demonstration remained largely peaceful, although a brief scuffle broke out between students and police when some commission officials attempted to enter the office.
The MZP has called for structural reforms and additional manpower to strengthen the commission and improve its efficiency and credibility. The organisation alleged that repeated shortcomings in the recruitment process had affected candidates and weakened their confidence in the commission.
A major concern raised by the students was the One Time Registration (OTR) system. The MZP alleged that several candidates had faced difficulties with document uploads and that some applicants who had qualified in written examinations were later disqualified because of incomplete documents submitted through the OTR portal.
The organisation demanded that the existing OTR system be scrapped and replaced with post-specific, need-based application forms.
It also sought a one-time opportunity for candidates affected by incomplete OTR document uploads to submit the missing documents offline. The demand particularly covers candidates who cleared written examinations but were subsequently rejected because of deficiencies in documents uploaded through the OTR system.
MZP president Dr C. Lalremruata said the organisation would intensify its agitation until its demands were addressed.
MPSC officials, however, defended the OTR system, stating that it was introduced to simplify the recruitment application process and promote fairness and equality in public employment.
According to the commission, OTR allows candidates to enter their personal information and upload essential documents once, with the details subsequently retrieved automatically for future applications. The system, officials said, reduces repetitive data entry, minimises errors and allows candidates to access their application and examination-related information through the portal.
Officials also pointed out that OTR systems are widely used by State Public Service Commissions across the country. They said there was currently no justification for abandoning the mechanism or introducing an offline document-submission process, particularly as such a move could have wider implications for appointments that have already been completed.
The MPSC said it processed around 50,000 applications during 2025-26 and had already handled more than 20,000 applications in 2026-27. It estimated that approximately 500 candidates may have been affected by incomplete OTR document uploads or attempts to upload documents after application deadlines.
The commission further said some candidates whose applications were rejected over incomplete or delayed document uploads had approached the Aizawl bench of the Gauhati High Court. It maintained that altering the existing procedure while the matter is pending before the court would not be appropriate.
The MZP said it had been raising concerns with the commission since June last year over difficulties encountered by applicants. While supporting OTR in principle as a mechanism that can simplify recruitment applications, the organisation said the current system remained insufficiently user-friendly and had created confusion among candidates.
The students’ organisation claimed that applicants were not always provided with clear instructions regarding document uploads. It also alleged that some candidates had appeared on valid candidate lists, taken written examinations and even reached the interview stage before being rejected during manual document verification because documents uploaded through OTR were found to be incomplete.
The MZP urged the MPSC to take responsibility for shortcomings in the online portal and give affected candidates an opportunity to rectify document-related deficiencies. It maintained that applicants should not be penalised for failures or limitations in the online system.