Efforts are on to change the exam format and thereby the type of people who are selected to serve the people as government servants. Even though, the term 'servants' may not be the right expression for majority of the present government employees -- more apt term possible is 'royals'-- nevertheless let's continue to assume that they all indeed strive to serve the public and doesn't act as lords of the rings.
Still, however we try to stretch our imagination regarding the work ethics and efficiency of the 'servants, the image of them as 'Ringmasters drawing circles around the hapless public' continue to come up.
Nevertheless, we are hundred times better than the shoddy state of affairs in many other states in India. But, a lot of others being muddied in dirt shouldn't be a reason for happiness for us; nor a reason for solace.
If you look at the corporate sector, managers are responsible for results. And, every year they take stock of the profit-and-loss generated through business activities. People lose their jobs on account of poor performances and good performances are rewarded, a very straightforward equation. But, if a lot of managers in a company are not able to achieve their targets, it means the business climate is bad or the employees of the firm are not good. If it is determined that the quality of employees are the reason for the bad performance of the company, the people responsible for hiring them, especially in the Human Resource department, will have a very tough time answering questions from the top management, often resulting in sacking of senior managers in that department.
In Kerala government service, all hiring has been done through the Public Service Commission and thus the overall image of the government servants are a direct reflection on the capabilities of P.S.C and a score of their performance till date. There is no escaping this fact. But, considering that we are a democracy and by definition, we make our laws, the performance of P.S.C and its recruits are a direct reflection of us as a society and our will as well as intent for change and progress. All criticism we throw at our institutions are a reflection on us, all barbs are afflicting us. Hence, it is important we change, for a better tomorrow.
We have been hearing news of potential changes in exam formats: a move away from the multiple choice question format and to the descriptive mode of exams.
It is good sign that authorities have recognized the pitfalls in the current selection procedure, the major ones: not testing the ability to communicate well with the public, and the focus on rot memory than application of knowledge or critical reasoning.
But, it is also important that P.S.C retains the objective format of the exams as the chances of corruption and nepotism leading to malpractices are too high. Considering, we had witnessed fraudulent activities in a mass scale in earlier years, which may or may not have been fully unearthed and corrected. Therefore, it may not be the right decision to go for an exam format which can introduce a lot of subjective judgment in evaluating answers.History is against us in this regard, so thread cautiously.
There are far better and objective testing formats followed various agencies and bodies across the world, a few widely known examples are Common Admission Tests by IIMs, XLRI admission tests, and Graduate Management Aptitude Tests (GMAT) for selection to U.S. MBA programs. They all try to recruit the best talent out there using different approaches. There is no harm in studying from such tests and copying the methods. It will result in a very robust exam process that can result in a much better talent pool in our government services.
We are in cusp of change, grab the opportunity to lay the foundation for a strong Kerala. Let the best get selected and let them create the platform for everyone to thrive. Let them build a future where entrepreneurship and social welfare can go hand-in-hand. Let's build a better Kerala model for the world to imitate.
No comments:
Post a Comment