The Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) is going in for direct recruitment of lecturers for the pre-university (PU) colleges, after several years. However, this has brought cheers only among the unemployed post-graduates who have passed in the semester system. Those who have passed in the non-semester system feel left out .
It may be mentioned here that the government has not gone in for direct appointment of PU college teachers since last 12 years.
However, when it recently called for applications from post-graduates for filling up 469 posts, the unemployed post-graduates were a happy lot.
But, this happiness was short-lived, when, to their dismay, the post-graduates who had passed in the non-semester system realised that there was a huge difference in the marks scored by them and their counterparts in the semester system. Consequently, the post-graduates (non-semester) who had applied, did not even receive call letters from the KPSC.
Many of these non-semester post-graduates, who spoke to Deccan Herald lamented that the KPSC had already started the recruitment process and interviews for some subjects had already been completed. “We don’t understand what we should do,” they said.
They pointed out that though some non-semester post-graduates had acquired ranks, and had completed their M Phil and PhD, they were a disappointed lot as they were not even eligible for the jobs.
All universities have introduced the semester system in the post-graduate courses during the last four-to-five years. Consequently, there is a difference of nearly 15 to 20 per cent of marks between the non-semester post-graduates and semester post-graduates, with the semester post-graduates being on the higher side. While the average pass percentage of the students in the non-semester system was around 65 per cent, it was nearly 78 per cent in the semester system. It is due to this that the semester post-graduates have got the call letters and the others have not. “Under these circumstances, how can we compete with the students who have passed in the semester system,” they questioned.
They also felt that the KPSC should have issued interview letters on 50:50 basis for the non-semester and semester post-graduates.
The post-graduates said that they had urged the government to fill up these posts through conducting a common entrance test (CET). Though former primary and secondary education minister B K Chandrashekar wanted to implement this, it did not come through. They have urged the government to modify the rules, and hold recruitment through a CET, on the lines of recruitment of primary school teachers.