Lucknow: Twenty-four-year-old Ravi Pandey from Ayodhya appeared for the main examination for Gram Panchayat Officer (GPO) on April 27, 2025. This April, he completed the process of document verification, yet his result remains pending.“I am shooting player, and played pre state last year. I qualified for the state but had no money to travel to Delhi for it. Shooting is an expensive sport, so I gave govt exam to fulfil my dream of playing for India,” said Pandey who comes from a humble background.Like Ravi, there are nearly 6,000 candidates who qualified the GPO exam and are waiting to begin their career and earn a livelihood to support themselves and their families. The Preliminary Entrance Test (PET) was held in 2022 and the post for GPO was advertised in 2023. But the main examination for GPO was held only in April 2025, making candidates struggle for almost four years now.Aditya Pratap Singh, 28, from Lakhimpur Kheri, badly needs this job to support his farmer father. “I come from a lower middle class family. Results of several other exams that were advertised after GPO have been declared and candidates have also joined the posts. We just want the govt to expedite GPO results,” said Singh, an agriculture graduate.A political science postgraduate, Ravi Prakash Vind, 28, from Jaunpur said, “We have approached the authorities several times but of no avail. All we want is this job so that we can support our families.”In all, 66,691 candidates qualified the PET to appear for GPO exam. Of this, 6,113 candidates qualified for 1,468 GPO posts. The Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Service Selection Commission (UPSSSC), the conducting body for GPO finished the process of document verification for qualified candidates in the first week of May.UPSSSC chairman SN Sabat told TOI that the documents of shortlisted candidates were uploaded by May 6 and they are under process of verification. “We are trying to fill the maximum advertised posts in all categories. Sometimes the unavailability of a requisite number of candidates in a particular group delays the process as the Commission endeavours to fill all posts. The results will be processed and declared as soon as the exercise is completed , which is already under process ,” said Sabat.Sources told TOI the commission is unable to find eligible candidates in a few horizontal reservations like skilled sportspersons, physically handicapped among others, and therefore are reviewing the list.
