Editor,
The recent advertisement (AHV/P-1139/2006-Vol-I) for a subject matter specialist post at the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Karsingsa, under the Directorate of Animal Husbandry, Veterinary & Dairy Development, Nirjuli, has reignited my concerns over walk-in interviews.
Recruitment in public institutions must be transparent, credible, and merit-based. Yet, walk-in interviews have increasingly become symbols of opacity. Candidates who have appeared for such interviews allege that they are nothing more than staged performances where the script is written long before the candidates arrive.
At a time of rising unemployment and inflation, such practices are choking our youths. When merit is sidelined by political power and bureaucratic kinship, the message is to our youths becomes: Connections matter more than competence. This is not just unfair – it is a systemic failure. It breeds cynicism, erodes trust, and pushes talented minds away from public service.
Policy reforms are urgently needed. Recruitment should involve transparent procedures, independent observers, and the publication of scorecards. If walk-in interviews are retained, they must be supplemented with written assessments and documented scoring systems. Otherwise, they will remain what they are today: a theatre of corruption, wasting time, money, and dignity.
My appeal goes to the student and other unions as well as the ministers concerned to heed these grievances.
Transparency in recruitment is not a privilege – it is a right.
A concerned denizen