Amid COVID-19 scare, aspirants in Kerala on the verge of missing out chance to become cops

With less the 75 days left for the validity of the list to expire, applicants are fearing that they might miss the opportunity.
A volunteer provides watermelon to a cop on Covid-19 lockdown duty under the scorching sun in Kozhikode. (Photo | Manu R Mavelil, EPS)
A volunteer provides watermelon to a cop on Covid-19 lockdown duty under the scorching sun in Kozhikode. (Photo | Manu R Mavelil, EPS)

KOCHI: Despite extending the validity period of several rank lists in the wake of Covid-19 lockdown, Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) is yet to decide on the fate of KAP 5 Idukki, Kottayam civil police rank list. Although no appointments have been made yet, the validity of the rank list consisting of 1,400 job aspirants will expire on June 30.

According to the aspirants in the rank list, the appointment got delayed due to the exam fraud controversy around the list. "All uniformed forces vacancies will normally expire within a year from the date of publication of the rank list. But this time, the list was put on hold for five months due to the controversy and the probe related to the exam fraud. With our collective effort, they have started the appointments in November and every process was halted since the Covid-19 outbreak," he said.

With less the 75 days left for the validity of the list to expire, applicants are fearing that they might miss the opportunity. "A couple of us are on the verge of crossing the age limit. It's like the last chance for us," said an applicant.

Late reporting of vacancies from the two districts has added to their woes. "Along with the loss of five months, the officials were late to report the vacancies from both Idukki and Kottayam. So far, none from the list was appointed under KAP-5 battalion. As we have lost many days for Corona also, we are requesting the govt to extend the rank list for at least another four months," he said.

Interestingly, the PSC has recently extended the rank lists slated to expire between March 20 and June 18 in the wake of Covid-19 outbreak.

However, the PSC chairman has brushed away the demand for an extension in the dates. "Normally, three times the number of people are selected than the actual number of vacancies. The one-year expiry rule was added after getting a lot of demands for new and young hands in uniformed forces. It had paved the way for new faces to get into the list annually. When UPSC  is stringently implementing the rule without any delay, we have been extending the dates for humanitarian concerns. Currently, there is no need to extend the rank list for this," M K Sakeer, Kerala PSC chairman, said.

He also clarified that the vacancies will be counted till the expiry date of the rank list. "As per the current rule, the vacancies reported till the ending date of the list can be filled from the list. Vacancies starting from 2015 are coming under this rank list. There is no room for apprehension here. The appointments were delayed due to a few court orders and we are gradually filling up the positions now. Anticipatory vacancies till June 30 will also be filled from the list," he added.

LOCKDOWN WOES

The rank list published: July 1, 2019
Number of applicants in the list: 1,400
Number of available posts: Around 900
Months lost to test fraud controversy: 5 months
Appointments started in: November 2019
The rank list will expire on: June 30, 2020
 

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