JOIN USFor 30-year-old post graduate S Mohana Kumar, getting a government job has been an unfulfilled dream.
Despite registering with the employment exchange five years ago, Kumar is yet to receive a call for the government job so far.
After the long wait, Kumar found a job in the private sector, since the family depends on his earnings, but he is one of several thousands across Tamil Nadu who anxiously wait for the letter of employment to arrive from a government department.
The allure of big pay packets and swanky work environs of the private employment do not seem to deter young graduates in the state, who have been knocking on the government’s doors for jobs in higher numbers than elsewhere.
Waiting list at the employment exchanges has crossed more than 80 lakh, despite the growing gap between registration and recruitment. Latest figures show that about 81 lakh people are on the waiting lists of the exchanges, 40 lakh of who are women. This included about 65 lakh aspirants of government jobs in 2011.
“(The figures) will touch one crore by the end of this year,” a senior labour department official said. The figures further revealed that 40 lakh people registered with the exchange until December 2012 are high school pass outs, while 28.39 lakh are matriculates.
Among the graduates, 3.5 lakh with arts degrees and 3.7 lakh with science, along with 2.8 lakh graduate teachers, await government jobs. The waiting list also includes 2.4 lakh engineering graduates and 15,370 doctors.
The official said despite the best efforts, the government is unable to narrow the gap between registration and recruitment.
He said registration for employment during the last quarter of 2012 was about one lakh, while only 7,000 people could be recruited in the same period. He added that the government was planning to recruit nearly 2,000 people for various posts in the beginning of 2014.
"The government cannot provide jobs for everyone. Only about 30 per cent of those registered may get jobs," Nasscom regional director Purushothaman K told Deccan Herald. He said the government sector do not offer the kind of pay available in IT sector. IT sector employs nearly 3.5 lakh people in the state, he added.
However, aspirants of government jobs have their own reasons.
“Government jobs are secure. Unlike private sector, chances of companies shutting down or getting dismantled are minimal. One can work until retirement or at least until one wishes to continue in the job,” said K Murugesh, who left his job in the IT sector to join the pollution control board, stressing that security in government jobs are virtually unmatched by any other sector.