The “Mega” DSC-2025 recruitment for 16,347 teaching posts in Andhra Pradesh has come under scrutiny, with the Opposition YSR Congress Party and a section of candidates raising questions over the conduct of the examination, merit lists, certificate verification, horizontal reservation and the Sports Quota.The controversy has led to 335 cases being filed in courts, including 69 related to the Sports Quota. Three cases are pending in the Supreme Court and three public interest litigations (PILs) have been filed in the High Court on various aspects of the recruitment process. The YSR Congress Party has stepped up its protests, demanding a CBI probe and the resignation of Human Resource Development Minister Nara Lokesh.The School Education Department, however, has rejected the allegations of irregularities, maintaining that the recruitment was conducted through a technology-driven and rule-based process. Officials attributed several complaints to individual grievances and differences in the interpretation of the revised methodology for implementing horizontal reservation.Merger of rolesThe YSR Congress Party has questioned the departure from the earlier practice of entrusting question paper preparation to the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) and examination conduct to the DSC Convenor. YSRCP MLC Parvathareddy Chandrasekhar Reddy, who filed a PIL in the High Court seeking a CBI probe, alleged that assigning both functions to SCERT compromised the transparency of the recruitment process.The government, however, said the decision was aimed at improving coordination and avoiding delays. It said the Joint Director (Teacher Eligibility Test and Teacher Recruitment Test) oversees the administrative aspects of recruitment, including schedules, vacancies, government orders, notifications, applications, examinations, answer keys, certificate verification, selection lists and results.The Director, SCERT, handles the confidential academic work, including the constitution of subject expert committees, question banks, mock tests, answer keys and objections.According to the government, bringing the two responsibilities under one officer facilitated quicker decision-making and coordination, enabling the recruitment process to be completed in a record 148 days and within the prescribed timelines.Controversy over Purama Naveen’s candidatureQuestions over the recruitment process intensified after the name of Purama Naveen, an outsourced employee of SCERT, figured in the initial merit lists. This led to allegations that persons associated with the examination system could have had access to question banks or other confidential information.The School Education Department rejected the allegations, stating that the examination was conducted entirely in Computer Based Test (CBT) mode using encrypted systems, restricted access, randomised question paper allocation and multiple sessions. It said different question papers were used across sessions and no evidence-backed official complaint of question paper leakage had been received.Sports DSC-2025The Sports Quota has emerged as a major point of contention, with questions being raised over changes to the reservation structure and the decision to exempt eligible sportspersons from the written DSC examination.According to the allegations, G.O. Nos. 4 and 47 increased the reservation for Meritorious Sportspersons (MSPs) from 2% to 3% and exempted them from the written examination. The government subsequently issued G.O. Nos. 23, 25 and 56, restoring the examination requirement after the recruitment process had been completed. The sequence of these policy changes has prompted questions over their timing and rationale.The government maintains that MSP selections were made in accordance with G.O.Ms.No.47, which provides for 3% horizontal reservation in direct recruitment without a written competitive examination.Officials of the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP) said the selection process involved scrutiny and verification of sports credentials, publication of merit lists, inviting objections and approval by a State-level committee. They maintained that no ineligible candidate was selected under the MSP category.Horizontal reservation and final selectionThe government said horizontal reservation in Mega DSC-2025 was implemented in accordance with G.O.Ms.No.77, dated August 2, 2023. Under the revised system, fixed roster points previously earmarked for categories such as women, Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) and ex-servicemen were discontinued. Eligible candidates under horizontal reservation were instead accommodated against the roster points of their respective vertical community categories.As a result, some candidates who attended certificate verification but could not be accommodated against the applicable horizontal reservation requirements within their respective community roster points were not included in the final selection list, the government said.The recruitment followed both vertical and horizontal reservation. Vertical reservation applies to social categories such as OC, SC, ST, BC and EWS, while horizontal reservation covers women, PwBD candidates, ex-servicemen and Meritorious Sportspersons (MSPs).