- Jharkhand government agreed to probe recruitment exam irregularities from 2014 onward
- A panel was formed to reform the state's recruitment system after student protests
- About 22 per cent of Jharkhand schools have only one teacher, affecting 4.4 lakh students
The Jharkhand government accepted key demands of protesting students on Monday, bringing a 24-day agitation over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations to a major turning point.
The state Cabinet decided to probe the JSSC-CGL examination and all recruitment tests conducted by TSR Data Processing Pvt Ltd (TDPL) since 2014, and ordered a comprehensive inquiry into alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations from 2014 onwards. The government also announced a panel for reforms in the recruitment system.
Student leader Devendra Nath Mahto, who had been on hunger strike for 16 days, ended his fast after the government's decision. He called the cancellation a victory for the student movement, but said the focus now must be on ensuring a transparent and reliable recruitment system.
The government's move addresses some of the protesters' key demands, but it also creates uncertainty for candidates who had already cleared the JSSC-CGL examination. Around 2,000 successful candidates now face uncertainty over their appointments following the cancellation.
The developments raise a larger question: are students and young people in Jharkhand facing a wider problem in education and employment?
Education Gets A Smaller Share
Jharkhand's education spending has not increased as a share of its overall government expenditure over the longer term. It accounted for 12.5 per cent of total expenditure in 2018-19 and is budgeted at 12.1 per cent in 2026-27.
Across all States and UTs, the share has also fallen, from 14.4 per cent to 12.2 per cent over the same period. In 2026-27, Jharkhand's share is therefore 0.1 percentage point below the combined figure for all States and UTs.
Single Teacher In Thousand Schools
The number of schools in Jharkhand has slightly declined over the past three years. There were 44,596 schools in 2022-23, compared with 44,378 in 2025-26.
But the number of schools with only one teacher has moved in the opposite direction.
It increased from 7,642 to 9,827 during the same period, an increase of 2,185 schools. That means about 22 per cent of all schools in Jharkhand now have only one teacher. The number of students studying in these schools also rose, from 3.8 lakh to 4.4 lakh.
The pupil-teacher gap is also wider than the national level. In 2025-26, Jharkhand had 36 students per teacher, compared with 24 in India.
Dropouts Remain Uneven
At the upper-primary level, Jharkhand's dropout rate rose from 3.9 per cent in 2021-22 to 14.5 per cent in 2022-23, compared with 3 per cent and 8.1 per cent nationally. At the secondary level, it went from 9.3 per cent to 25.7 per cent over the same period, while India's rate was 12.6 per cent and 16.4 per cent, respectively.
The rates then declined. By 2023-24, Jharkhand's dropout rates stood at 9 per cent for upper primary and 15.2 per cent for secondary, compared with 5.2 per cent and 14.1 per cent in India.
In 2024-25, the dropout rate was 1.7 per cent at the middle stage and 0 per cent at the secondary stage in Jharkhand, compared with 3.5 per cent and 8.2 per cent nationally. In 2025-26, the rates stood at 2.5 per cent and 3 per cent in Jharkhand, against 3.6 per cent and 7 per cent in India. From 2024-25, UDISE+ changed the classification of school stages under NEP 2020.
After Education, Are Jobs Available?
Getting through school does not necessarily mean getting a job.
Among young people aged 15-29, Jharkhand's unemployment rate fell from 14 per cent in 2018-19 to 3.6 per cent in 2023-24. But it rose again to 8.2 per cent in 2025.
Even after this rise, Jharkhand's youth unemployment rate remained below the 9.9 per cent national rate. The gap was 1.7 percentage points in 2025.
So the employment picture is mixed. The rate is lower than it was seven years ago, but the recent rise comes at a time when recruitment examinations have become a major source of frustration among young people.
