THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The induction programme for the candidates to the Kerala Administrative Service (KAS) emphasizes grooming bureaucrats who understand the commoner’s pulse. The 18-month-long training for the first-ever batch of the KAS, which began at the Institute of Management in Government (IMG) here on December 27, is expected to equip them with skills for improving the efficiency and the delivery system of government offices.
A salient feature of the programme is the frequent visit to field-level offices. The candidates will go in groups to select offices and will interact with the people visiting there. They will speak to them and learn their grievances and expectations on service delivery. They will also interact with staff and assess their working conditions. The team will make a report on each visit which will have recommendations for improving the functioning of the office they visited.
At present, the candidates are undergoing a two-month-long foundation course which includes lectures on Constitution, social inclusion, economics, Centre-state relations, and public administration. There will also be lectures by experts on different subjects. The other modules are a three-month course in development administration, a four-month course in regulatory administration, a three-month field attachment programme, and a Bharat Darshan tour.
The field attachment programme is for three months during which the candidates will undergo familiarisation programmes at various offices like the GST office, district educational office, collectorate, or secretariat where they will serve in future. The final module of six months will commence once candidates join their designated offices.
The present batch has 64 males and 37 females who were recruited in three streams. The first stream consists of graduate candidates who are directly recruited. The second and third streams are those recruited from non-gazetted government employees and gazetted employees.
Throughout the course, there will be special lectures by bureaucrats every week, either serving or retired, on the nuances of administration. The induction programme was designed by the IMG with inputs from the programmes of the IAS, Rajasthan Administrative Service and the report of the state Administrative Reforms Commission.
“The programme is largely modeled on the IAS induction programme with a focus on Kerala’s development needs and challenges. A health club, swimming pool and yoga session are among the stress-relief facilities. The visit to government offices is aimed at calibrating their theoretical knowledge with reality. We’re lucky to get a responsive batch. The programme will certainly improve their attitude, behaviour and self-confidence,” said IMG director and former chief secretary K Jayakumar.