SSC CGL 2025 exam cancelled: The first day of the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) Combined Graduate Level (CGL) Examination 2025 Tier-I, scheduled for September 12, was disrupted after tests were cancelled at multiple centres due to technical and administrative reasons.The Commission has clarified that fresh dates have been assigned to the affected candidates to ensure they do not lose their attempt. This disruption is particularly significant as the SSC CGL is one of the largest recruitment examinations in the country, attracting lakhs of aspirants every year.
Chaos at Gurugram centre
At M M Public School in Sector 4, Gurugram, chaos broke out on Friday morning when candidates arrived only to learn that their exam had been cancelled. According to officials, frustrated aspirants damaged the school gate, prompting the police to intervene. A police team reached the spot and managed to pacify the agitated crowd, which had been raising slogans against the alleged mismanagement of the examination process.Centre head Manoj Gupta said, “The exam has been cancelled due to technical problems in the SSC server. While the server began functioning again after the first shift, candidates from that shift caused a disturbance and prevented the second shift examinees from entering the venue. The police were called to restore order,” according to PTI.A senior police officer stated that no formal complaints had been filed by the school management regarding the incident.
Centres affected in Delhi and Jammu
Apart from Gurugram, official notices confirmed that examinations at Bharti Vidya Niketan Public School in Delhi were cancelled due to administrative issues. Candidates from these centres have been rescheduled to appear on September 24, 25, and 26, 2025.In Jammu, the examination at Digital Computer Education was disrupted by technical glitches. The rescheduled date for these candidates has been fixed for September 26, 2025.
SSC Chairman’s clarification
Speaking to a prominent media house, SSC Chairman S. Gopalkrishnan clarified that the examination was successfully conducted across 227 centres, but issues were reported at 12 locations, including one major disruption in Gurugram. He explained that outdated devices and technical failures at the last moment had forced the Commission to drop that centre, and assured that new centres in Delhi-NCR would be allotted within 10 days, with particular reference to the MM centre in Gurugram.The Chairman further mentioned that in Jammu, only minor technical problems were observed. He indicated that the addition of new features in the examination process sometimes resulted in such errors. However, since the majority of centres functioned smoothly, he suggested that the responsibility for disruptions lay with local managements that relied on outdated networks, switches, and systems.On the subject of cancellation notices, he clarified that only the Staff Selection Commission has the authority to announce cancellations, not individual centres. He emphasised that the Commission remained committed to ensuring the fair conduct of examinations and addressing lapses caused by mismanagement at the local level.
Past disruptions and student protests
This year’s cancellation adds to concerns already raised over the Commission’s examination management. During the Selection Post Phase 13 recruitment test held between July 24 and August 1, 2025, candidates had faced abrupt cancellations, software crashes, biometric verification failures, and incorrect exam centre allotments. Thousands of students and educators had staged protests at Jantar Mantar and the CGO Complex in Delhi, demanding accountability, vendor reviews, and independent inquiry into repeated lapses.
About the Commission
SSC is a central government recruitment body functioning under the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). It conducts nationwide competitive examinations to recruit for Group B (non-gazetted) and Group C (non-technical) posts across ministries, departments, and government organisations. Each year, millions of aspirants appear for SSC examinations, with the CGL being one of the most competitive and sought-after routes to government service in India.(with inputs from PTI)
