The Hindu      06.08.2014  

Graduates apply for MCD jobs that pay Rs.7,000 per month

Waiting to hear back from a prospective employer can be a stressful experience for anyone. But, those who are clearly over-qualified for the job should be able to relax. Not Nita (name changed). The 27-year-old holds an M.A. in Hindi and has applied for a school attendant’s post in a municipal corporation. The job entails taking care of students and helping out teachers, and pays minimum wage, which is Rs.7,722 per month for un-skilled workers.

“I want to be a teacher, but getting a government job isn’t easy. I don’t have any other option this time because this would be my first job,” she said.

She had applied for the post, which requires Class X qualification, with the North Delhi Municipal Corporation. Thousands of applications for 270 posts of school attendants and 95 posts of nursery ayahs were handed in from May 29 to June 4.

“This is the first time in over a decade that we have advertised such vacancies, so the number of applicants is high. Till now, we have been able to process 15,000 applications and it will take another month to know the exact number,” said North Corporation Education Director Jasram Kaim.

He explained that there were many others like Nita who were over-qualified for the jobs. “We have got graduates who have applied for the nursery ayah’s post,” he added. But, he said, the applicants with higher qualifications will not be given any extra credit for the same.

Senior municipal officials said they could only set minimum qualification criteria and not the maximum. South Delhi Municipal Corporation spokesperson Mukesh Yadav said: “Usually, when we conduct recruitment for group D jobs, most of the applicants are over-qualified.”

Stories repeat themselves

Inadequate employment for the thousands of new graduates joining the Capital’s workforce every year, plus the perceived security of government jobs, means that the next time there are vacancies in the municipal corporations, Nita’s story will repeat itself.

I want to be a teacher, but getting a government job isn’t easy. I don’t have any other option this time because this would be my first job