ITANAGAR, Sep 2: The All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) has welcomed the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission’s (APPSC) advertisement for the Common Recruitment Examination for Group-A and Group-B Gazetted (Technical) Posts-2026 (Part-I), describing it as a significant step towards safeguarding employment opportunities for the indigenous people of the state.
The notification invites applications for 155 posts in the Departments of Agriculture, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry & Veterinary, and Textiles & Handicrafts. It mandates candidates to possess a Permanent Residence Certificate (PRC), Arunachal Pradesh Scheduled Tribe (APST) certificate and proficiency in an Indigenous Tribal Language of Arunachal Pradesh.
AAPSU president Meje Taku said the notification was a “significant vindication” of the union’s sustained demand for protection of employment opportunities for the indigenous population.
“This is what our people have been demanding for years — that recruitment into government service must first protect the sons and daughters of this soil. We welcome this decision by the APPSC and the State Government, and see it as proof that peaceful, persistent struggle yields results,” Taku said.
He, however, urged the government to extend the criteria to all future recruitment examinations.
“This is only Part-I. Our hope, and expectation, is that this standard becomes the norm for every recruitment examination, in every department, going forward. Anything less would be incomplete justice,” he added.
AAPSU general secretary Tator Mato Bui said the inclusion of PRC, APST and indigenous language proficiency criteria was in line with the union’s 13-point memorandum submitted to Chief Minister Pema Khandu and its sustained engagement with the High-Power Committee constituted to examine the issue of state employment quotas.
The AAPSU said it would continue to monitor the implementation of the criteria and reiterated its demand for their uniform application across all future recruitment processes conducted by the state government, without dilution or exception.