The Jharkhand government on Sunday agreed to cancel three examinations, including the preliminary examination of the 14th state Public Service Commission Combined Civil Services, after talks with two delegations of protesting student groups in Ranchi, The Indian Express reported.The government also agreed to involve the Enforcement Directorate in an inquiry into alleged financial irregularities linked to the 14th Jharkhand Public Service Commission examination.The decisions came as the students’ protest in Ranchi entered its 16th day. The protests began on July 25, inspired by the agitation across the country against the alleged mismanagement of national competitive exams. The protesters have been holding a sit-in at Ranchi’s Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, with six demonstrators on a fast.On Sunday, after the talks, the government announced that it would cancel the Jharkhand Public Service Commission backlog 2023 examination, the backlog 2025 examination and the preliminary examination. Three members of the commission also resigned on Sunday.A backlog examination is a retest for candidates who failed a subject or missed the exam on their first attempt.The talks, however, failed to resolve the students’ key demand for cancellation of the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission-Combined Graduate Level examination results and a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into all state public commission tests.The government has refused to cancel the graduate-level examination results, saying that the exam was conducted under the monitoring of the Supreme Court and the Jharkhand High Court. It has instead proposed a high-level judicial inquiry headed by a retired judge to investigate allegations related to the examination.Technical and Higher Education Minister Sudivya Kumar Sonu, who was part of the government panel that held talks with the students, said the government had accepted 98% of their demands.Student leaders, however, said they would continue their agitation until the remaining demands were met. Student leader Ravindra Paswan said that while most of the protesters’ demands had been accepted, they would not “compromise” till their demand for a CBI probe was fulfilled, The Indian Express reported.“We will continue our proposed march to the Jharkhand Assembly on [Monday],” the newspaper quoted him as saying.Chief Minister Hemant Soren reiterated his promise that the protesting students would get justice.Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.Also read: In Jharkhand, youth lose years of their lives trying to clear the JPSC exams