THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After the prolonged interruption due to the Covid pandemic, the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) has decided to resume the deferred examinations in September and a proposal has been submitted before the government in this regard.
The first examination to be held will be for the post for assistant surgeon in government hospitals which is proposed to be held online. However, the schedule of the examination is yet to be decided.
M K Sakeer, chairman, PSC, told TNIE that the examinations have to held as early as possible since there are several candidates waiting in the wings for government jobs.
“Already six months have been lost due to lockdown and the spike in Covid cases. So we are planning to resume the examinations next month and a proposal has been submitted before the government which has to take the final call.The government also needs to provide the infrastructure for the smooth conduct of the examination. If we get the go ahead, we will schedule the online examination adhering to Covid protocol,” he said.
A PSC source said the examinations to other vacancies, which were similarly put off, will be held subsequently if the first one to be conducted after the break goes smoothly.
The PSC had earlier scheduled 26 examinations for 62 posts in government departments in March, April and May.
Since the question papers for the deferred examinations were printed before March, the authorities cannot postpone them for too long.
The existing validity of the rank list will expire in April 2021. So the new rank list can be published only after that date.
‘No delay in filling vacancies’
Sakeer refuted allegations that the appointments of several rank holders who had made it to the list for various posts from last year are being delayed intentionally.
“Now, the PSC is being accused of delaying the recruitment process and thereby denying chances to eligible candidates. It is false propaganda. We have filled around 12,000 vacancies during the post-Covid outbreak period. Besides, 112 new rank lists have been published after the country announced lockdown. So we are doing the proceedings as per the rules. We cannot extend the rank lists indefinitely as it will affect the fresh aspirants who are on the lookout for government jobs. So we will start filling the posts based on the vacancies reported by the government,” he added.
As many as 12,000 applicants have applied for the post of assistant surgeon in government hospitals.
It was earlier scheduled for March and recruitment notification was published in December 2019. But the examination was postponed in the wake of the pandemic.