Hundreds of Central government job aspirants in Tamil Nadu are set to lose out on employment opportunities because of the state government’s decision to stop issuing income and asset certificates to applicants under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota.
The government of India, in 2019, enforced 10% reservation in government higher education institutions and employment for candidates from the dominant castes with an annual family income of less than Rs 8 lakh per annum. While the quota is being implemented across the country mandatorily in organisations managed by the union government, the state governments were given a choice to not implement EWS quota in the institutions and organisations run by it. Tamil Nadu is one of the many states that have chosen to not implement the 10% EWS quota in state government institutions of higher education and jobs as many political parties in the state have opposed the move. The state is yet to take a policy decision on the matter.
However, the state government’s policy to not implement EWS reservation in its own education and employment avenues seems to be holding back many youngsters from Tamil Nadu who are central government job aspirants.
Candidates who wish to claim their place under this quota are compulsorily directed to submit an ‘Income and Asset certificate’ issued by the tahsildar of where they live. The state revenue department had ordered all the district collectors to instruct the tahsildars to not issue income and asset certificate to economically weaker sections (EWS) vide a letter dated June 4, 2020.
R Thamizhazhagan, a 27-year-old graduate from Orathy village in Madurantakam in Chengalpattu district was elated to clear the examinations for clerical jobs at nationalised banks recently. The exams are conducted by the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) every year for various grades of postings like clerical staff, probationary officers and other officers in public sector banks across the country.
“I had applied through the EWS quota from Tamil Nadu and I was happy to see that I passed the exam. The results came out in the third week of May and apart from me, 131 other candidates from Tamil Nadu had also cleared the exam under the quota,” he told TNM. An engineering graduate, this was his fourth attempt in this exam. He added that the candidates are asked to submit the documents to back up their eligibility for a job under the EWS quota at the time of reporting for work.
“To get the Income and Asset certificate, I applied to the district office on May 29. But I did not receive any communication regarding it for quite some time. When I contacted the officials, they told me that EWS certificate will not be issued since the state government has prohibited them from issuing it,” he said.
When TNM took the issue to the notice of the state government, a senior officer said that quota is a policy decision of the state government and the letter in question was a routine communication to the district administrations. “Reservation is a state government policy decision and while it is maintained that at the state level EWS will not be adopted, the issue pertaining to central government job aspirants will be taken to the government and an appropriate decision will be taken,” he added.