Monday Musing
[ Junroi Mamai ]
One of my friends has been trying for a government job for the past many years and religiously fills up application forms whenever he can for various job advertisements in government departments. He is currently employed in a private company for many years now, but still hopes to secure, what many term, “a proper government job.” It is a sad reality that many people in our country still do not consider a private sector job as gainful employment and often give preference to government jobs, which have no doubt, become scarce with each passing year.
Like many of the young and unemployed of our state, he often scans the newspapers looking for vacancies in any of the government departments and when he finds one, he loses no time in filling up the forms. Till now, he has already sat for numerous interviews and examinations, but with little success, despite much hard work, which is indeed frustrating for him. Despite my constant gibes, the thought of giving up never occurred to him and he is still hopeful and trying his best.
Like him, many youths in our state hope of securing a proper government job and continue to appear for examinations and interviews whenever they can. They work hard, for the competition is really tough. There are thousands of them applying for a few posts each year and their numbers only keep increasing with each passing year.
Only a couple of months back, around 18, 000 candidates applied against a mere 80 posts for group C and D jobs in various government departments, which is a lot for a small state like ours. The fact that so many candidates have applied against these posts is certainly perturbing and shows how much unemployment has risen in our state.
Also, at a time when there is widespread unemployment and government jobs are limited, there is bound to be desperation and people can go to any lengths to bend rules and encourage malpractice in every possible way. There are many who are ready to pay lakhs in return for a group C and D post, while those who cannot, try and save as much money as possible to be able to secure a government job for themselves. This has been the norm for years and the situation has only worsened.
The recent controversy over the Arunachal Pradesh Staff Selection Board (APSSB) has offered us only a tiny glimpse of the deep-seated problem of corruption prevalent in the government machinery. Though, it is not the first instance of such malpractice concerning government jobs, there were numerous such instances reported earlier when officers and their officials were found involved in corrupt practices. They have often been involved in accepting cash for jobs and encouraging nepotism in every step of the way.
The recent APSSB case has, however, deeply shattered the confidence of the hardworking youths of the state. Whatever little faith they had left in the APSSB is now lost and it will not be an easy task for the government to regain the confidence of the people in the board.
There is no doubt that those involved in the malpractice definitely deserve the strictest of action but the big question here for the government is, will it actually initiate any tough measures to curb corruption and malpractices in the future and ensure transparency in all government recruitment processes.
Many have been seeking a complete reformation of the APSSB while others demanded scrapping of the board itself. Whatever be the next move of the government, we hope it is not going to fail us this time.
