Government recruitments: Consumed by corruption

Many aspirants allegedly involved in the recent Police Sub-Inspectors (PSI) recruitment scam had staked their all— from land to valuables — to pay fat bribes for police jobs.

In Kalaburagi, a 55-year-old father is accused of arranging Rs 50 lakh in two instalments to ensure that his son was recruited into the police department.

In another case from Holenarsipur, Hassan district, a candidate’s brother who cleared the exams, committed suicide days after learning that the results were annulled. The family eventually denied that the scam was the reason.

These cases put into perspective the lengths to which candidates and parents can go to get government jobs.

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Such incidents, that bring disrepute to government recruitment agencies, are not alien. The present example of the Police Recruitment Board is just the tip of the iceberg.

At the turn of the century, the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) was left disgraced over appointments made in 1998, 1999 and 2004.

The scams not only rattled thousands of eligible candidates who had burned the midnight oil for a job, but also hinted at the tentacles of corruption creeping into the government recruitment process.

Almost two-and-a-half decades later, candidates who were wrongfully denied appointment by KPSC, the state’s premier recruitment agency, are still fighting an uphill legal battle.

The recurrence of scams during government recruitments reflects how inaction on the allegations of corruption only emboldened other officials and aspirants to pursue similar twisted paths.

Numerous complaints have surfaced in the recruitment for government posts as in the case of PSI exams.

“The government treated those involved in previous scams with kid gloves, this encouraged others to rig the system for the benefit of a few. If successive governments had adopted a zero-tolerance attitude against such behaviour, cases that jeopardise the future of thousands of aspirants would not have recurred year after year,” says Khaleel Ahmed, a victim of the 1998 KPSC scam.

Others like Pundalik Rathod, a PSI aspirant who had appeared for the exam, wondered how such scams could happen in an exam conducted by the Police Department itself.

“The CID is probing it as the scam was exposed. Or else, it would have been hushed up,” he said.

Criticising the government's decision to annul the recruitment of 545 PSI posts, he opined that the government should have issued appointment orders for those who cleared exams without using fraudulent methods.

The rot within

What allows for such degradation in public institutions which are regarded in high esteem? Who is responsible for this decay?

Answering these questions will be key if there is any effort being undertaken to curb malpractice. Senior legislator A T Ramaswamy agrees with the argument that the current scams in recruitment of candidates have cascaded from past ones.

"The PSI scam might have come to light. It is possible that such fraudulent practices were part of the recruitment process in the past too. When officials are appointed in an unfair manner, say, by bribing the appointing authority in the past, they are bound to be hand in glove in such scams in the future," he said, highlighting how one scam cascades to another scam years down the line.

Another matter of concern is how the members for such recruiting agencies are selected. “Like vice-chancellors for universities, KPSC recruitment membership is generally secured by those who pay the most to the ruling dispensation. How can honesty and efficiency be expected from such people when the watchman himself is the thief?" Ramaswamy asked.

He recalled that though a judicial probe was ordered, none of the governments acted on these reports.

"They were just a waste of time and money. Though the government appoints them, it does not act on the recommendations made," he said. Stringent punishment for those involved in these cases is essential to serve as a deterrent for those who might attempt similar misadventure in the coming days, Ramaswamy added.

Moreover, delays in conducting exams for government jobs – almost half of which are vacant – have also fueled the 'exam mafias' that plot to make crores out of every exam. These scams feed on the desperate and gullible who await notifications year after year for various government jobs.

Harish K, a KPSC aspirant, noted that exams were not conducted annually and the results of the exams are also unnaturally delayed. If exams are held annually or biennially, it offers more chances for hard-working candidates.

For instance, KPSC exams were held only four times in the last decade – 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2020. The last KPSC exams were notified in January 2020 for 106 posts. After prelims, for which around 1.6 lakh candidates appeared, 2,200 were selected for the main exams held in February 2021. Results are still awaited.

Another candidate noted that if exams are delayed and not held in a regular manner, candidates aspiring for government jobs will be desperate for a variety of reasons. "This provides room for all kinds of malfeasance as touts and those within the government attempt to bank on our anguish," he said.

According to experts, what also allows such corruption to flourish is the nexus between politicians and the bureaucracy. Both are quick to save their skin at the first signs of trouble.

Accusations are rife that it is the top leadership that rakes in majority of the moolah, the lower rung of the hierarchy – aka the foot soldiers – take the fall in case of trouble.

Reforms

Over the years, according to sources, the extent of the fraud has changed. While such scams were restricted to a handful of candidates in the past, the recent cases indicate that the proportion of candidates seeking the easy way out has swelled.

T M Vijaybhaskar, chairman of Administrative Reforms Commission-2, said that several reforms were being implemented to improve the recruitment process. For instance, in order to reduce leakage of question papers, optional subjects are removed for exams held to recruit gazetted probationers.

Weightage for the interview round is also reduced so that the process of recruitment can be completed quickly. "This will enable us to hold KPSC exams every year," he said.

Another factor that has affected KPSC is the burden of departmental exams that are held every year to promote candidates from one cadre to the next. Clearing this by forming another agency– perhaps a state testing agency that can manage these exams would help.

“This way, the KPSC could focus exclusively on selecting candidates for departments and would go a long way in addressing the concerns involving recruitment,” the former chief secretary observed.

Moreover, a simplification of recruitment rules is also essential to improve the system. For instance, there are rules for the recruitment of motor vehicle inspectors that require them to have experience working in a garage. "There hasn't been any recruitment for the past three years as there is some confusion about certification," he said.

Responding to a query, he said that strict punitive action can also be a measure to prevent recruitment scams.

“The second part of the report on Administrative Reforms which will be submitted to the government shortly will have recommendations to that effect," he said.