Government will have common test – CET- for railway, bank, Central government jobs from 2021
The CET will replace the first level tests conducted by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) and the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS).
To streamline the hiring process, Centre will set up an autonomous National Recruitment Agency to conduct the online test.
There will be Common Portal for registration, single entrance fee and Common Curriculum
Merits of having Common test are:
Level playing field for all candidates by removing the obstacles involved in appearing for multiple examinations
Reduced Chances of Paper Leak: A standardised question bank with multiple questions of similar difficulty levels will be created in a central server.
An algorithm will be used to jumble and dole out different questions, so that each candidate receives a different question paper, reducing the chances of cheating and paper leakage.
Quick Process: Scores will be generated quickly, delivered online and be valid for a three-year period. Presently these exam cycle process takes on an average 6-12 months
Huge Savings: For the recruiting agencies, the savings in terms of logistics will be huge.
For more specialised positions, the CET will act as the preliminary elimination level, which can be followed by further testing by the separate agencies.
One of the big concerns is language but the Centre has planned to make the test available in multiple languages including all those notified under Schedule 8 of the Constitution
