Editorial:-
Thanks to an embarrassing bungle by the Sikkim Public Service Commission, the competitive exam to shortlist probables for the next crop of under secretaries in the Sikkim Government is being held again. Conducted in October 2013, the exam was scrapped because of the painfully shoddy manner in which it was conducted by the SPSC and is now going to be held again in July 2014. The exam phase alone has consumed almost a year [and then there will be the wait for the results and interview-calls and then results again], and there were some more years used up before that when the possibility [of the exams being called] hung in the air and then the application process played out for nearly a year if not more. Interestingly, the latest delay has brought the SPSC exam [for under secretaries] up to its average of being held every eight years. The last time that this exam was held [successfully] was in 2006-07. The one before that was in 1998 although the successful candidates were not inducted into service until 2002.
What the experience of the last three such exams shows then is that youngsters keen on joining the State administration get at most two shots at joining the club – the first when they are fresh out of college and then again when they are on the brink of crossing the age bar. One speaks of candidates in the general category here for whom the age band for this exam in Sikkim is from 21 to 30, a total of nine years. For someone who was 21 in 2006-07 and had also graduated [which is not always the case], the year provided the first chance to take the exam and when it is held next month, it will be the aspirant’s last chance to join the State Civil Service. In fact, if the State Government and the SPSC continue with their penchant of holding these exams every eight years, then even the ST and SC candidates who can take this exam till they are 35, will also be overage by the time these exams are held next. Interestingly, the only category of ‘people’ who stand a chance of attempting the US exams for a third time [in the present average] are the already privileged lot already in government service – for this group, the age limit, by some warped logic is 40. The reason why one speaks here of years and age is to argue the point that for a State where such competitive exams are held so rarely and conducted so shoddily, instead of an age-limit, aspirants should be allowed a minimum number of attempts. The UPSC exams, which are held every year, now allow [general] aspirants a maximum of six attempts while there is no limit on the number of tries an ST or SC candidate can make. The rarity of such an exam at the state level makes such a clause redundant, but since aspirants are provided this opportunity on such a rare basis here, serious thought should be invested on the cut-and-paste age-limit clause being applied here. Instead, consider allowing aspirants the chance to take the exam [without break] at least three times [because four would be too much given that 8-year gap between exams] from the time they are 21 years old. The only noise one hears at present is about the conduction of the exam and demands that it should be held properly. That should be a given, and fair and proper exams need to held. After the embarrassment of last October, the July exam should allow no room for complaints.
All these suggestions and expectations are at the administrative level to deliver; what the issue really requires is a re-evaluation at the policy level where some clauses and rules framed for different situations have been brought in and applied without the application of enough thoughtful consideration. If the option of allowing at least 3 attempts suggested above proves to difficult to take into consideration, at least extend the maximum age limit for everyone to 40 like is being unfairly enjoyed by those already in the government’s employ…
Thanks to an embarrassing bungle by the Sikkim Public Service Commission, the competitive exam to shortlist probables for the next crop of under secretaries in the Sikkim Government is being held again. Conducted in October 2013, the exam was scrapped because of the painfully shoddy manner in which it was conducted by the SPSC and is now going to be held again in July 2014. The exam phase alone has consumed almost a year [and then there will be the wait for the results and interview-calls and then results again], and there were some more years used up before that when the possibility [of the exams being called] hung in the air and then the application process played out for nearly a year if not more. Interestingly, the latest delay has brought the SPSC exam [for under secretaries] up to its average of being held every eight years. The last time that this exam was held [successfully] was in 2006-07. The one before that was in 1998 although the successful candidates were not inducted into service until 2002.
What the experience of the last three such exams shows then is that youngsters keen on joining the State administration get at most two shots at joining the club – the first when they are fresh out of college and then again when they are on the brink of crossing the age bar. One speaks of candidates in the general category here for whom the age band for this exam in Sikkim is from 21 to 30, a total of nine years. For someone who was 21 in 2006-07 and had also graduated [which is not always the case], the year provided the first chance to take the exam and when it is held next month, it will be the aspirant’s last chance to join the State Civil Service. In fact, if the State Government and the SPSC continue with their penchant of holding these exams every eight years, then even the ST and SC candidates who can take this exam till they are 35, will also be overage by the time these exams are held next. Interestingly, the only category of ‘people’ who stand a chance of attempting the US exams for a third time [in the present average] are the already privileged lot already in government service – for this group, the age limit, by some warped logic is 40. The reason why one speaks here of years and age is to argue the point that for a State where such competitive exams are held so rarely and conducted so shoddily, instead of an age-limit, aspirants should be allowed a minimum number of attempts. The UPSC exams, which are held every year, now allow [general] aspirants a maximum of six attempts while there is no limit on the number of tries an ST or SC candidate can make. The rarity of such an exam at the state level makes such a clause redundant, but since aspirants are provided this opportunity on such a rare basis here, serious thought should be invested on the cut-and-paste age-limit clause being applied here. Instead, consider allowing aspirants the chance to take the exam [without break] at least three times [because four would be too much given that 8-year gap between exams] from the time they are 21 years old. The only noise one hears at present is about the conduction of the exam and demands that it should be held properly. That should be a given, and fair and proper exams need to held. After the embarrassment of last October, the July exam should allow no room for complaints.
All these suggestions and expectations are at the administrative level to deliver; what the issue really requires is a re-evaluation at the policy level where some clauses and rules framed for different situations have been brought in and applied without the application of enough thoughtful consideration. If the option of allowing at least 3 attempts suggested above proves to difficult to take into consideration, at least extend the maximum age limit for everyone to 40 like is being unfairly enjoyed by those already in the government’s employ…
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