Mailbag

Attach importance to qualification

Sir,

It is indeed true that most people are dissatisfied with the present state of affairs in the country. The wide spread discontentment is primarily due to the gross mismanagement of social, economic and political matters concerning people directly or indirectly. Several evils and malpractices have become endemic and do not cause surprise or concern in the public mind. According to Indian constitution, so many fundamental rights have been given to its citizens. One of them is ''Right to Employment''. According to this right every individual has the right to compete in any examination conducted by any Recruitment Board for employment irrespective of caste, colour or creed. But J&K Service Selection Board is openly violating this fundamental right keeping aside all norms. Due to illogical and faulty selection procedure of SSRB youths of J&K are frustrated and their future is at stake. Several educated unemployed youths are time to time demanding for abolishing of such criteria for selection but nothing tangiable comes out of it. Ever Hon'ble High Court has recently advised the Government that due weightage to higher qualifications in selection procedure should be given but beside all this SSRB is following its traditional system. According to which they have allotted 50 marks for 10+2 qualification while five marks for professional qualification such as B.Ed. and M.Ed in the selection of teachers.

As in other countries teaching is considered lucurative profession but in our democratic set up last preference is given to this profession. Educated youths of the state are dissatisfied with the whole selection procedure which is giving less weightage to higher qualifications. Sometimes even candidates having higher qualification but less percentage of marks in 10+2 does not fall in criteria set by SSRB for interviews of teachers which is totally a human rights violation. Justice delayed is justice denied. Numerous cases of suppression, neglect of talent, merit and seniority in the recruitment to the Govt. services. Such acts of injustice are causing considerable discontentment among concerned and affecting lot of people in general. Recently due to hard efforts of unemployeds of Doda district SSRB fixed dates for conducting interview for the post of teachers after four years from the date of advertisement. According to educated unemployeds here also board followed same faulty selection procedure which restrict higher qualified to be eligible for interview. According to a post graduate he did not fall in such fake criteria beside having good marks in graduation and post graduation. He said that these degrees have no value and are useless.

Unrest among unemployeds due to corruption and other hardships which they are facing from the last ten years due to militancy is matter of concern for local populace. Govt should review its selection policy immediately and provide equal chances to every citizen. While framing Selection Policy due consideration should be given to higher qualifications and overaged candidates. The high sounding schemes of government will go waste without meaningful co-operation of educated youths. If we undertake the task with will and determination, there is no reason why we should not be able to enforce effective remedial measures which can rescue our youths.

Yours etc...
Ranjit Parihar
Udhampur.

Women Reservation Bill

Sir,

The tabling of Women Reservation Bill in the Parliament has become a focus of attention of all the countrymen since this bill is going to be a revolutionary step to put an end to the gender bias and discrimination. This bill which is going to be introduced in the Parliament once again has to fulfill the cherished dreams and aspirations of all our father figures who wanted India to prosper and progress with the full participation of all people irrespective of caste, creed, colour religion and sex. This step will also remove the supremacy of men who for centuries together exploited the system to suit their vested ends at the cost of vast section of the populace who were deliberately being ignored and suppressed on one pretext or the other to ensure the male dominance and control over the women. Thanks to the revolutionary spirit and vision of all those Parliamentarians who want to rise now above petty political and party lines to make all endeavours to get this bill passed to offer an opportunity to the vast chunk of women to participate in the parliamentary democracy. Hence credit goes to all those stalwarts academicians, opinion makers and feminists, writers social activists who by their selfless struggle succeeded in mobilising the masses to understand the urgency of this step which has become a reality in the light of the changing situations where women like men have to play a greater and challenging role to bring this country out of the bonds of ignorance, backwardness, illiteracy and extreme poverty. India being a vast country has almost half of the population as women whose participation in the democratic set up right from the village Panchayats to the Parliament can contribute in a significant way to push the country on the march to progress and prosperity in the new millennium, where women will rub their shoulders along with men to see revolutionary changes are brought in the Indian society. Besides a new thinking and approach will come into play when an important and significant section of the society comes forward to offer solutions to the challenges that are posed to the country at present. We have the biggest challenge of rising population, economic backwardness, AIDS threat, growing threats of militancy, corruption in every field of society, acute poverty and deprivation against which the role of women becomes all the more important since it is through this segment of society that effective and constructive programmes about family planning, communal harmony fight against poverty and illiteracy can be launched as more and more women can become assertive and bold to change the outlook and mentality of the society which is still deep rooted in the centuries old malaise and evils which have plagued it deeply.

Yours etc...
H L Bindroo
H. No. 17, Ashram Lane
Talab Tillo Bohri Jammu.