Unemployed youth body opposes fee hike for staff recruitments

The state coordinator of the Himachal Pradesh Unemployed Youth Federation, Shrey Awasthi, has criticised the HP Staff Selection Commission for unprecedented hike in the recruitment fees.

He alleged that an application fee for the newly announced JBT recruitment had been raised to Rs 800 for all categories — a shocking increase from the TGT recruitment in May 2025, where the fee was Rs 400 for the general category and Rs 325 for SC/ST candidates. “This is a deliberate attempt to exploit the unemployed youths,” he said.

He questioned why the commission was refusing to give fee relaxation to reserved categories when UPSC, HPPSC, IBPS and SSC provided such concessions. “If the biggest and most respected recruitment agencies in India can ensure fee relaxation for SC, ST and OBC candidates, then why is the state commission hell-bent on charging more from the underprivileged societies? This exposes the anti-youth and anti-poor mindset of the Congress government,” he said.

Himachal Tribune