Thiruvananthapuram: The hopes of over 3 lakh youth to get placement in Kerala Government Service could be dashed as several rank lists of recruitment tests conducted by the State Public Service Commission are set to expire in a fortnight. Not even 40% of the candidates who feature in most of the 493 rank lists that are set to get invalid have been appointed so far.
In early February, the state government had extended 493 rank lists by six months. The extension order was applicable for all rank lists that were set to expire between February 3 and August 3, 2021.
The law stipulates that the validity of a rank list that has expired cannot be given any extension.
The PSC can extend the validity of the lists only if the state government approves it, officials had said then.
The government had made an exception by announcing the extension last time.
As reported earlier appointments to various posts by the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) were hit after the outbreak of the pandemic early last year. Even the publication of new rank lists was delayed even as some approached the expiry dates fast. For instance a rank list whose validity was extended by three months in view of the COVID-19 lockdown had expired on June 19, 2020.
The PSC couldn't conduct recruitments on time owing to lockdowns announced to contain the COVID-19. Although recruitment tests were conducted for some posts, a rank list was not issued amid the pandemic because the verification of documents, interview, fitness test and physical examination could not be completed.
With the delays, the expiry date of rank lists came closer, forcing many anxious youth to hit the streets demanding the extension of their validity time. Ahead of the Kerala Assembly election the state capital Thiruvananthapuram was rocked by protests by many candidates who feature in the rank lists. Soon, the government announced the much-desired extension of the rank lists.
