MP Su Venkatesan slams CBSE recruitment exam for having Hindi portions, says it violates Official Language Rules
The Madurai CPI(M) MP argued that as there were portions testing candidates' knowledge of Hindi language and literature in the exam, those who were from non-Hindi-speaking states would get lesser marks.
Madurai CPI(M) MP Su Venkatesan
CHENNAI: Madurai CPI(M) MP Su Venkatesan wrote a letter on Sunday to Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan criticising the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Recruitment Exam for having portions assessing candidates in Hindi language and literature, and stated that it was not a level playing field for those from non-Hindi-speaking states.
The CBSE had issued a notification on March 8 for direct recruitment for 118 administrative posts (Assistant Secretary, Accounts Officer, Junior Engineer, Junior Translation, Accountant, and Junior Accountant posts) in Group A, B, and C categories for which a Tier 1 objective (MCQ) examination is scheduled on August 11.
The CPI(M) leader said that there were portions testing candidates' knowledge of Hindi language and literature in the exam and that only candidates to the extent of 10 times the vacancies as per the cut-off would be allowed to appear for the Tier 2 examination (descriptive). This would mean that candidates who were not from Hindi-speaking states would lose marks in the first stage itself, hence, the exam was discriminatory, the MP argued.
He further wrote, "This is a gross injustice and amounts to exclusion of candidates of Non Hindi speaking states from the process of selection. It is not in consonance with OLI rules (Official Language Rules) also which classify states into three categories i.e.A,B,C and exempts Tamil Nadu from its purview upholding lingual diversity of our country."
Stating that it was not a level playing for all aspiring candidates, Venkatesan urged the CBSE to change the scheme of the examination.
The MP also listed out the marks allotted for the Hindi and English portions of the exam:
1)Group A: Assistant Secretary (Admin) - 30/300 marks for Hindi.
2)Group A: Accounts officer - 30/300 marks for Hindi.
3)Group B: Junior Engineer - 15/300 marks for Hindi.
4)Group B: Junior translator - 200/300 marks for Hindi and English literature together.
5)Group C: Accountant - 40/300 marks for the test of Hindi and English together
6)Group C: Junior Accountant - 40/240 marks for the test of Hindi and English together.