In this era of macro development , fast communications through e-mails, swift breakfast meetings at London, and evening meal at Chicago and night halt at Toronto, in the God’s Own Country, having the highest literacy including gender literacy, highly educated and the sophisticated prefer a local job in a Government office and that too, the Post of a ‘Peon’.
In answer to an advertisement by the Kerala State Planning Commission seeking applications from candidates for the Post of Peons in the various Government offices and departments numbering 12,000 for the next five years, the Commission received over 12 lakh applications(12,31,499), the largest ever applications received by it. It means, per one Peon’s post there are 100 applicants. The minimum educational qualification fixed by the Commission for the Post was: the ability to read and write Malayalam, VII Pass. But those who applied included a girl, who had an M.Phil (Zoology) with a BEd, MSc with Bed, doctoral researchers, college graduates, Post graduates, etc.
The lure of Government Job, be it the job of a Peon or the lowliest in the Government hierarchy, which offers guaranteed security, light work, intermittent holidays due to strike, bundhs, fixed holidays, restricted holidays, Casual leave, medical leave, maternity leave(for woman), Child care leave for woman (2 years leave with pay). If a staff lands into problems, the Unions will take care off, has attracted highly qualified unemployed to apply for the post of the lowly Peon’s position.
The 12.31 lakh applicants constitute roughly 4% of Kerala’s population of 3.18 Cr. The fact that the applicant’s are in the 18-40 age group reveal that more than 10% of the young population have applied.
The highest number of applications came from Thiruvanathapuram (1.75 lakhs) where job opportunities are less compared to Kochi, the Commercial capital which accounted for 1.11 lakhs, Kozhikode 1.25 lakhs, and Kerala’s border districts like Wayanad (35,000) which had few opportunities and Kasargod(40,000) bordering Mangalore.
The candidates who have applied for the peon’s post have joined coaching classes that prepares the last grade prospects for the Job test.
One of the spin offs of the Post is that, whenever Government LDC vacancies would arise, 10% are earmarked for the last grade employees who just need to score just a pass mark to clear the clerical job test.
Kerala has around 38 lakhs unemployed registered with the Employment Exchanges (9.1%) even though Goa has the highest employment rate (11.4%). In Kerala, there is more than 15% voluntary unemployment(a unique feature of Kerala) , as their kith and kin work in the Arabian Peninsula, Europe and America who send remittances back home regularly. There are around 509.3 million employed in India. The labour force grew at a quicker rate of 2.84% than the workforce, unemployment has risen rapidly. The private sector accounted for a percentage growth from 0.44% to 0.92% while employment opportunities decreased in the Public sector from 1.53% to 0.54%. There are ban on recruitment in most of the Government, autonomous, semi-autonomous bodies. Another factor which pushed up the growth of unemployment was the decrease in employment elasticity from 0.41% to 0.15% (from 1993-94 to 2000). For the period 2004-5,t he aggregate elasticity has tripped from a low of 0.15 to 0.48 (that was the employment elasticity in 1993-94!). We talk about an economic growth of 8.4% for 2009-10. However, the labour force growth was 2.93%, which was more than the population growth rate.
Globalization has seen that 26% of US technological firms founded by immigrants have more than 13% contributed by Indians and the rest combined contributed by UK, China, Taiwan, and Japan. Kerala has immigrants in most parts of the globe which is more than 1 million.
Human development or not, Kerala’s Gross State Domestic Product is heavily dependent on remittances from abroad which constitute 50% of India’s total remittance received from expatriates. Kerala’s exports constitute 2.4% of India’s total $ 185 billion. The Central sector public undertakings are a pie in the ocean of development. Kochi Port, heralded as the Queen of the Arabian Sea is worth a dozen Gold fields; its wealth is inexhaustible. Yet, the state which has the highest consumerism depends upon other states even for vegetables. This is because there is a need to study the structural unemployment scenario with special emphasis on the education scenario. Is it productive? Protective? Need-based? Meeting the challenges of the times?
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