Thiruvananthapuram: The Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department has urged the Kerala government to conduct a comprehensive investigation into unauthorised appointments made across various departments and Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) that bypassed the Employment Exchange system.

The department has recommended that detailed records be compiled for all temporary employees, including their mode of recruitment. Any appointments found to be unauthorised should be cancelled and future recruitments to these posts must be routed strictly through Employment Exchanges. The move comes amid mounting concerns over large-scale backdoor appointments, even as nearly 25 lakh job seekers remain registered with the state’s Employment Exchanges.

A departmental study revealed that several government bodies have failed to report temporary or contract vacancies to Employment Exchanges. In 2022–23, when the Administrative Reforms Department carried out its assessment, not a single vacancy was officially reported from panchayats or among teaching staff. The only vacancy reported that year was for health inspectors. 

10,000 vacancies, just 323 hires
Between May 20, 2021—when the second Pinarayi Vijayan government assumed office—and May 31, 2024, only 323 appointments were made through Employment Exchanges in the General Education Department. This figure stands in stark contrast to the tens of thousands of temporary teaching and non-teaching vacancies that arise annually in the department.

Similarly, in over 1,200 local self-government institutions where more than 10,000 vacancies reportedly emerged during the same period, only 2,783 appointments were made through Employment Exchanges. 

Other recommendations

• Monthly online vacancy reporting: An online platform should be created to make it mandatory for all government departments and quasi-government institutions to report permanent, contract, and temporary vacancies on a monthly basis. The same platform could also serve as a mechanism to address recruitment-related grievances.
• Modernisation of Employment Exchanges: The department proposed transforming Employment Exchanges into advisory hubs that support start-ups with workforce planning and help connect them with potential candidates.
• Secure data infrastructure: Citing data security concerns with storing candidate information at the State Data Centre in Technopark, the department recommended setting up a dedicated server at the Directorate of Employment for secure data backup.