PRAYAGRAJ, Dec. 20 -- Prashant Kumar, the newly appointed chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Education Service Selection Commission (UPESSC), assumed charge here on Friday. After taking over responsibilities from acting chairman Ram Suchit, Kumar, also the former UP DGP, met commission members and officials and reviewed the status of pending recruitment processes. Addressing media persons in the evening, he said his top priority would be to carry out recruitments transparently as he emphasised that candidates would be selected strictly on merit and that there would be no compromise on integrity, ensuring long-term benefits for future generations. Kumar announced the adoption of a zero-tolerance policy towards any lack of transparency. He said the commission would maintain complete transparency in its functioning and make all efforts to complete pending recruitments at the earliest. Immediate issues faced by the commission would also be resolved on a priority basis, Kumar added. Like other recruitment bodies, the UP Education Service Selection Commission will release a recruitment calendar so that aspirants are informed about upcoming examination and recruitment schedules. Regarding the proposed Uttar Pradesh Teacher Eligibility Test (UP-TET) scheduled for January 29 and 30, he said a decision would be taken after discussions with commission members. Responding to questions about the written examination conducted for the recruitment of 910 assistant professor posts in government-aided non-government colleges across the state but whose interviews are yet to be held, Kumar said the matter would be examined. He also said that testing is underway for an online portal being developed to collect vacancy details from various departments. Prashant Kumar is a retired Indian Police Service officer of the 1990 batch. He was appointed the acting director general of police of Uttar Pradesh in January 2024 and retired on May 31 this year. His new appointment has been made under Section-4 of the Uttar Pradesh Education Service Selection Commission (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025 as amended recently, according to a circular issued by Girijesh Kumar Tyagi, special secretary, UP government. The post fell vacant after the first chairman of UPESSC Prof Kirti Pandey resigned on September 22, citing personal reasons. The term of Prashant Kumar as the UPESSC chairperson is for three years from the date of appointment or until he attains the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier, the notification reads....