BENGALURU:WITH the final appointment list for 1,921 Engineering, Accounts and Administrative posts in the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd (KPTCL) and Electricity Distribution Companies across the state set to be made public anytime shortly, the provisional list released has caused heartburn among a section of engineering graduates in the state who failed to make the cut.
In support of them, the Kannada Development Authority has called for an immediate halt to the recruitment process.
The reason for it pertains to the provisional list released under the general merit category of the Assistant Engineer (Electrical) cadre. While a total of 251 candidates have been selected under various reservation categories, 24 out of 29 vacancies in the general merit stream have been filled up by BTech students from Andhra Pradesh, point out BE graduates from Karnataka. They have the hall tickets of the successful 24 students with the postal address of the neighbouring state to substantiate their claim.
Speaking on behalf of a 20-strong group of engineering aspirants, M Vishwananath, a 2013 engineering graduate from VTU, says, “The qualification specified for the post is only BE, or an AMIE qualification, as per the amendment brought by KPTCL in the Karnataka Electricity Board Recruitment and Promotion Regulations, Employees (Probation) Regulation and Employees (Seniority) (Amendment) Regulations, 2015.
BTech students cannot apply for this. Many of our friends in the BTech stream in Karnataka did not even apply for the post.” Despite a topper in studies, he missed being selected by a whisker. “I obtained 43.75 marks in the written test held for recruitment and a student from Andhra Pradesh who has scored 44 has made the grade. This is sheer injustice done to me and 23 other BE students who need to be on the list,” he said.
What has created much bitterness among the students as well as KDA officials is the shockingly basic Kannada test that was given for the Assistant Engineer level. Engineering graduate Harsha Vardhan, who too lost out in the selection, says that multiple choice options are given for even basic questions. For instance, one of the queries given in English ran thus: What is the Kannada word for Six? “With the Telugu and Kannada script being almost similar, it is pretty easy for a Telugu speaking individual to get these answers right,” he insists.
Express is in possession of a copy sent by KDA chairman Siddaramaiah to KPTCL MD calling for a retest to be done for the Kannada paper which is of the SSLC Kannada level. Secretary K Muralidhar said, “We are demanding that the recruitment process be stopped immediately.”