Sixth Pay Commission: India shining, Noida whining: seven postgrads, 8 grads seek sweeper job

Pragya Kaushika
Posted online: Thursday , August 28, 2008 at 01:35:51

Noida, August 27 Seven postgraduates, eight Arts graduates, one Science graduate, 100 Class XII passouts, and eight having cleared Class X.
These are some of the applicants for the job of sweepers in district panchayat of Gautam Budh Nagar. The responses came following an advertisement by the district panchayat for 397 vacancies for sweepers.

“We are amazed to see the educational qualifications of some of the applicants,” District Panchayati Raj official Krishna Kumar Singh said. “Inability to secure other jobs must have forced these candidates to try and somehow secure a government job, irrespective of the nature of work.”

The district panchayat, Singh said, does not have more details of applicants’ educational qualifications. “The administration never expected applications from qualified candidates,” he said. “So the form to be filled in by applicants does not contain any column seeking details of educational qualification.”

But even a post-graduation degree is not safe a passport to the job of a sweeper, say district administration officials. “We are conducting interviews and practical tests,” a senior official of the district panchayat said. “Candidates who can sweep well, and are able to dig their feet in the mud and sewer, would get these jobs.

“Their educational qualification does not guarantee that they would be selected, or even that have a headstart over other applicants with little or no education.”

Many educated candidates, the official said, have “failed to clean sewage” in tests conducted earlier.

The office has received a total of 1,075 applications for the vacancies advertised.

Senior officials at the panchayat office said the practical tests for the job would be conducted till August 30; it would be up to the selection committee of the district panchayat to make the decisions to fill up the vacancies thereafter.

Singh believes the recent implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission has a role to play in attracting so many applications from even highly qualified people for the job of a sweeper. Once recruited, sweepers would get close to Rs 10,000 as remuneration. “Many would prefer to get the job and earn Rs 10,000 rather than be simply unemployed,” the senior official said.


Source: http://www.expressindia.com