Four years on, 15,00,000 candidates in state await government exams

MUMBAI: Last month, the state government promised employment to 75,000 youth. However, between 2018 and 2021, it had advertised to fill up over 36,389 positions for which over 15,00,000 candidates are still awaiting dates for exams and interview processes.

Tukaram Natkar was 22 years old when he started preparing for competitive exams. At 29 today, he is one of the many hopefuls waiting to bag a government job. Son of a farmer from Moregaon, Parbhani, Natkar has, since 2017, spent nearly ₹4 lakh in coaching classes to prep for the competitive exams. “We mortgaged our land to take a loan. I have been preparing for various exams to get a government job. But there’s not been any exam since 2018,” said Natkar. He now works at a mall in Pune to repay the loan and reclaim his farmland; and it does not help that last year MPSC changed the exam’s pattern, thereby nullifying the efforts of students. “We need to prepare for the 2023 exam, aligning with the new format for which I need to invest another one lakh,” he said.

Another aspirant, Pravin Mundhe, has been applying for government jobs since 2015. The 30-year-old, who lives with his family on their three-acre farmland in Kurala village, Washim district (Malegaon), has spent close to ₹6 lakh, which he had loaned. He wishes to work with the government to repay the debt and fund his sister’s wed

After he lost the position of a peon by two marks in 2015, he began preparing for additional departmental tests and also completed his master’s.

Mundhe’s quest for a government job is driven by social conditioning. As he said, “My parents work as labourers on other people’s farms. Parents of daughters either seek out government employees for matrimonial matches or look for families that own at least five acres of mortgage-free land.”

According to the Spardha Pariksha Samanvay Samiti (SPSS), a nodal student body that is a bridge between aspi

rants and government, most candidates spend between ₹80,000 and ₹1,50,000 every year in tutorials to prepare for competitive tests. They either borrow or mortgage properties.

“Most students are dissatisfied with government’s policies,” said Suresh Savale, 32, a candidate who seeks a position in teaching. He has been preparing for competitive exams since 2014. With a bachelor’s degree in art and education, Savale who cleared Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) in 2014, is still on the bench following the TET scam involving bogus candidates and marksheets, apart from a blackding. listed company that was allowed to hold the exams.

Since 2018, the exam and recruitment processes have been plagued by these issues. Last week, the state government cancelled a 2019 advertisement for 18 different categories under Zilla Parishads (ZP). The department received 12,50,000 applications against 13,251 vacancies – again, the company selected to conduct the examination was blacklisted the previous year.

Similar malaise plagues various government departments, adding to the woes of candidates. (See accompanying box)

SPSS secretary, Nilesh Gaikwad said, “The government has defrauded the public by accepting around 12,50,000 applications; each applicant paid an average of ₹ 1000 - ₹ 1500.”