Engineers, doctors, post graduates take up jobs of peons and bailiffs in Gujarat HC

Joblessness compels hundreds of highly qualified candidates to accept lowly paid jobs in Gujarat

Joblessness in India has acquired scary proportions over the last few years. Even government data confirms unemployment rising in the country (Representational image)

Nachiketa Desai

Published: 9 Oct 2019, 9:30 AM

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Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seems to have left behind Uttar Pradesh in appointing post graduate degree as peons.

In the recently held entrance test for the positions of peons and bailiffs in the Gujarat High Court, as many as 1,59,278 candidates had appeared for 1,149 vacancies. Among those who qualified in the test and appointed as peons and bailiffs were seven doctors, 450 engineers and 543 post graduates.

Seven out of 19 doctors, who had appeared for the test, have accepted the job of peons who draw a salary of Rs 30,000.

Entrance test was conducted recently to fill up 1,149 vacancies of class IV positions of peons, bearers and bailiffs in Gujarat High Court and sub-ordinate courts.

In all 1,59,278 applications were received from candidates desirous of getting a job as peons, bearers and bailiffs. Among the candidates were 19 bachelor’s degree holders in dentistry and homeopathy. There were also 5,446 post graduate degree holders in law, science and commerce who had applied for these low paying positions.

Several owners of coaching and tutorial classes for preparing students for UPSC examinations too had appeared for the test just to know what type of questions are asked in the test for selection of peons and bailiffs. Even though they qualified in the test, they did not accept the job.

When asked why did they decide to opt for the job of a peon or a bailiff, some of the highly qualified candidates said it was better to get a permanent government job which is non transferrable instead of idly sitting at home without a job.

Last year, there were over 100,000 candidates for 2,753 posts of village level revenue officials and clerks.

Modi helmed Gujarat as the state’s chief minister from 2001 to 2014, when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the Lok Sabha elections and he was elected as the Prime Minister of India.