Goa had been aloof despite questions being raised on several occasions in the recent past.
However, the recent fiasco involving the recruitment process at the South Goa Collectorate has given fodder to the voices alleging recruitment scams in various departments over the years. Nearly 30,000 call letters to applicants to answer the skill tests were posted by the staff at the Collectorate office without proper addresses. The letters included the admit cards to the skill tests.
When the issue was highlighted by O Heraldo on Friday, the South Goa Collector assured not to leave any loopholes in the recruitment process, including keeping the office open on Saturday and Sunday to facilitate all the necessary services to the applicants to the 147 posts in the Collectorate. It was informed that staff will be personally calling the candidates from September 23 onwards and will reach out to every candidate by putting in extra efforts to intimate even those residing in remote areas, having poor internet connectivity for the skill tests beginning from September 29.
The recruitment process has already been delayed for almost four years since it began in 2019 and this is the third time the tests have been scheduled to recruit 147 staff, including junior stenographers, talathi, LDCs, and multi-tasking staff. With more than 30,000 applicants, there are nearly 200 job seekers for every single position.
O Heraldo therefore raises the question of whether there has been a deliberate attempt at sabotaging the process and favouring a selected few candidates. The applicants too hope that the positions are not already ‘fixed’ and ‘filled’ and that the process is just a sham to pull wool over their eyes. The applicants have not just put their qualifications and merits to task, which has taken more than four years, but also spent money while applying for the positions.
The dispatch clerk at the Collectorate is responsible for sending out these letters as they have been posted in its name and therefore the first person on the radar should be the clerk concerned. How did he or she allow such a lapse due to which thousands of applicants would miss an opportunity to answer the skill test? Not to forget the money wasted on the process without yielding any results as the letters would be returned undelivered.
The Postal Department too has questions to answer. How did the postal staff accept the letters without a proper address? The letters have been stamped with O I G S (On India Government Service) and including admit cards would necessitate them being stamped ‘Registered’ and therefore must include the full address of the receiver. It is expected that the postal staff is aware that no letter can be delivered with just the name of the receiver and the name of the village on the envelope. Therefore, the postal department will have to inquire how its staff blindly accepted these letters without the proper address of the receiver.
The South Goa Collector should order an inquiry into the fiasco and hold those involved accountable for trying to dodge the process, create panic, and perhaps indulge in corrupt practices. Failing to do so will point fingers at the direct involvement of the Collector and conniving with the malpractices will be established. Accountability and necessary action against the guilty is mandatory to rid the recruitment process of any accusations.
