THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Thousands of candidates figuring in over 150 PSC rank lists, their validity expiring on June 30, have their fingers crossed. If anything, their prayers are the government would extend the validity by another six months.
Despite the government having extended the validity of the lists up to June 30, they complain, no appointment has been made from nearly all of the lists. PSC officers, on condition of anonymity, said extension of the lists without reporting vacancies will not make any difference to the lives of the candidates.
Pressure from the Opposition youth organisations like Yuva Morcha and Youth Congress, and from the rank holders’ associations had earlier made Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan reluctantly agree to extend the validity by six months. On the other hand, he wanted the PSC to conduct exams at regular intervals and appoint candidates from fresh lists.
Though the Chief Minister’s intention was positive, various departments like the Directorate of Higher Secondary Education, Revenue and Health made little effort to report vacancies.
Hundreds of rank holders of the Higher Secondary teachers’ category had complained they were on the verge of moving beyond the age-limit and the officers were claiming bribes to report vacancies to the tune of lakhs of rupees.
“Our prayer is the government should consider our case sympathetically and all the lists which have not completed four-and-a-half years should be extended by six months. We have no other way out,” said a 39-year-old woman figuring in the Higher Secondary teachers’ rank list.
Youth organisations like Yuva Morcha and the rank holders’ associations have come forward with similar demands. Yuvamorcha state General Secretary R S Rajiv told Express hundreds of candidates were being thrown into the streets by denying them their genuine right for a government job even when there were several vacancies.