(News) Civil services no longer on radar of elite colleges

Civil services no longer on radar of elite colleges

The annual results of the Civil Services Examination, conducted by the UPSC, no longer cause a stir in the hallowed corridors of top colleges like St Stephen’s, Lady Shri Ram and Shri Ram College of Commerce. For several decades, St Stephen’s grabbed the limelight on the list of successful candidates in the country’s highest competitive examination. However, a changed socio-economic situation has altered the scenario. “Civil Services are not even on the radar of our students who now have a lot more job opportunities to choose from. The UPSC is a big gamble and requires two-three years’ preparation time,” said Sanjeev Grewal, associate professor of economics, St Stephen’s College. “Unlike the seventies and eighties when several Stephanians were in the bureaucracy, today our students do not even appear for the exam,” said Grewal, who is also staff adviser for the placement cell of the college.

“The success ratio of UPSC candidates from the vernacular space has increased. There are also more first-generation learners who are clearing the exam. This is because of the easier availability of study material in vernaculars, especially Hindi,” said Vivek Kumar, professor of sociology in JNU’s Centre for Study of Social Systems. The mushrooming of coaching centres catering to Hindi medium students has also enabled these students to get readymade study material, adds Kumar.

“Ever since the UPSC allowed students to take the exam and interview in Indian languages, the ‘terror of English’ has gone,” said Dr Anand Kumar, professor of sociology in JNU’s Centre for Study of Social Systems. Candidates from small towns, who would lose out due to their lack of proficiency in English, are finding it easier to clear the interview which is now also conducted in vernaculars.

“I have not heard of any of our students clearing the UPSC examination this year. Students today have a lot more career options to choose from and that is one of the reasons why UPSC is not really sought after anymore,” said Anjani K Kochak, a teacher in the economics department of Lady Shri Ram College. Students who have good English language skills and advantage of being based in big cities like Delhi now prefer jobs in the private and corporate sector. Students of colleges like LSR, St Stephen’s and SRCC get well-paid jobs in the corporate sector which seeks employees with good English language skills.

On the other hand, encouraged by the ability of bureaucrats to bring about development through administrative action, several students from small towns are motivated to appear for the UPSC examination. Influenced and guided by Government officers in their family and friends’ network, a larger number of such students are finding their names in the coveted list of successful UPSC candidates. Consider the example of Sandeep Kaur and Manish Anand. Kaur is the daughter of a peon in Morinda in Punjab while Manish’s father is a driver of the Registrar of the Delhi High Court. “I saw senior officers in my father’s office and since childhood I wanted to become one,” said Manish.

Read more..
Courtesy: Dailypioneer.com