Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor greets IAS topper Haritha V. Kumar at her residence at Thycaud in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday. —DC
Thiruvananthapuram: Options are aplenty in the state for those aspiring to be civil servants as almost all regions across the state have seen coaching centres come up in the recent past.
The Kerala State Civil Services Academy in Thiruvananthapuram has several programmes to provide coaching for civil services preliminary examinations.
One of the programmes is the regular training conducted in two sessions — July to November and November to July. Apart from this, there is a year-long course held on Saturdays and Sundays for those who are employed. Apart from this there is a 45-day crash course in May. The academy also has a two-year course for second year degree students enabling them to appear for the civil services examinations the same year they complete graduation.
The academy admitted 180 candidates for the regular programme in the July session and 160 for the November session, said course co-ordinator P.M. Rajiv. As many as 120 students have been admitted to the evening course and 50 to the crash course.
Besides, the academy provides free coaching for all students who clear the preliminary. They are also trained to face the interview. They are paid conveyance to attend the interview and are also provided lodging free of cost at Kerala House.
Another institute that has been leading in such coaching is the Civil Service Institute at Pala. Founded in 1998, the institute is sponsored jointly by the Archdiocese of Changanacherry and the dioceses of Pala and Kanjirappally as a part of the Inter-diocesan Centre for Human Resources Development. It has been offering full-time courses for graduates and post-graduates and starts in July and goes on to November the next year.
There is also a foundation course for higher secondary school students mainly with the syllabus for the IAS preliminary examination. However, students are given training in public speaking, group discussion, leadership activities and interview skills.
Honing communication skills also gets prominence. Foundation classes are conducted on second Saturdays and holidays starting July. It also has crash courses for those who have appeared for prelims.
The state government runs two institutions at Ponnani and Kozhikode. There are several NGOs running such coaching centres across the state. Besides, colleges too have support programmes like the one at Farook College in Kozhikode.
The Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese runs the Naipunya Academy in Kochi. Thrissur, the centre for coaching to entrance in medical and engineering courses, has the Prof P.C. Thomas Institute of Civil Service. But the St Thomas Academy for Research and Training at Kottuli in Kozhikode had to be closed down in 2011 as there were not enough students.
Success tales were inspiration
The success of previous winners was what motivated her to persevere and dream big, said civil services topper Haritha V. Kumar.
Haritha told Deccan Chronicle that if one were to analysis the results of the past couple of years, it would be quite clear that more students from the state were in the first 100 ranks. Last year as many as seven candidates from the state found a place in that slot. In 2010, one of the students bagged the fourth rank. However, never in the past had three students from Kerala bagged the top five ranks in the civil services examinations, she added with glee.
This achievement would certainly encourage more students to try for civil services in the future, she said. “I personally met Mithra who qualified last year and was inspired by her. I also used to take out newspaper cuttings featuring candidates who had qualified for civil services,” she said.
Less predictability worked for us
Kochi: The sterling performance of Kerala candidates in the 2012 civil service examinations can be attributed to the UPSC’s bid to bring down predictability in questions as part of its effort to end the dominance of Delhi coaching centres, said second rank holder Dr V.Sriram on Sunday.
The change in examination pattern to be effected by the UPSC from 2013 would be a positive step for candidates from Kerala, he told DC over phone from Cuttack.
The weightage for general knowledge going up to 1,000 marks from 600 and that of optional papers being brought down to 500 marks from 1,200 from 2013, can be a further boost to Kerala candidates. “There will also be questions to assess the candidate’s stand on ethical and moral issues from now on,” he said.
Dr Sriram, however, underscored the need for group study and exchange of ideas. “I was fortunate that there was a handful of my friends in the medical college who were interested in civil services. We used to meet and discuss topics for study. The adoption policy of the Kerala Civil Service Academy also helped.” Dr Sriram said he would opt for IAS and would love to work in Kerala.
Software slump is civil Service’s gain
Kochi: A slump in the software industry coupled with better pay scales and security of a government job has led to the revival of interest in Civil Service in the state, says M.P. Joseph, 1978 batch IAS officer, who is now special advisor to the labour minister.
“High paying software jobs diverted interest in Civil Service since the 1990s. What we are witnessing now is a role reversal with software jobs shrinking in numbers. There is also no security in a software job,” he told this newspaper.
One should also not forget the growing awareness among youngsters about the office of power an IAS or IPS occupies, he pointed out. “I still remember the first salute I got. It’s one major ego trip when one joins the service at the age of 22 or 23. But a young officer can do a wonderful job if he or she is responsible and socially committed.”
Joseph, who worked with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), said that Indian Administrative Service continues to be one of the best in the world. “ I can vouch for this after seeing the bureaucracies at ILO and several other countries.”
Yet another factor behind the revival is the encouragement by the government to the Kerala Civil Service Academy. Most importantly, the entry into India’s Civil Service continues to be highly professional with UPSC’s gate keeping ensuring only meritorious youngsters are selected, Joseph pointed out.
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