THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A personnel and administrative reforms department report has pointed out that candidates from coaching centres run by the state government’s minority welfare department have a low success rate in competitive examinations for government jobs.
“Even after providing coaching to youths from different minority communities, only a small percentage could obtain jobs in state government services. The six-month courses succeeded only in generating interest in the youths towards competitive exams and creating public awareness. The number of students who use the combined study system provided by these coaching centres is also low,” the report said.
The minority welfare department was formed as per the recommendation of the Paloli Muhammad Kutty Committee report in 2011. The declared aim of the department is to bring the Muslim, Christian, Sikh, and Jain sections of minorities to the forefront of society from educational, social, and economic backwardness. There are 14 minority cells under the minority welfare directorate to coordinate the activities received through different state and central schemes.
To improve the performance of the candidates, the report recommends that after completing the basic training course, they should be attached to a professional coaching centre for an additional year according to their academic excellence and income.
“By mingling with students from the general category, these minority students would get more awareness about competitive exams. Studying and writing examinations with the general category students would increase their ability to face the examinations. These select students should be provided with tuition fees, hostel facility, and a stipend per month,” the report recommended.
There are 24 exam training centres and 32 sub centres in the state. The report further recommended that the department prepare an empanelled list of coaching centres to provide higher coaching to the students. It also said that if a new coaching centre of the department has to be started, it should be ensured that there are no other centres in that locality. That should also be a minority-populated area. To evaluate the performance of teachers at the coaching centres, the report proposes to launch a mobile app through which the students could give feedback.