The Meghalaya government has urged the Centre to amend the draft model notification of the Department of Posts by prescribing knowledge of the local language spoken in Meghalaya.
In a letter submitted to the Union Minister for Communication Ashwini Vaishnaw on May 23, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said, "Therefore, considering the larger interest of the Postal department and the people of Meghalaya, I would like to request your esteemed Ministry to amend the draft model notification of Department of Posts by prescribing knowledge of the local language spoken in Meghalaya. This can either be Khasi or Garo as the local language for the candidates to opt for. This is in addition to Hindi and English as is being done in the State of Assam, Manipur and Mizoram."
"Since the recruitment of the post will commence immediately, I would like to request you to kindly consider the appeal from Meghalaya, as this will enable our educated unemployed youth to take advantage of the job opportunity," he added.
The appeal was made after the Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP) had recently sought the intervention of the chief minister into the matter.
The Ministry of Communication, Department of Posts, has sanctioned 445 Gramin Dak Sevaks, Branch Post Masters and Assistant Branch Post Masters for posting in post offices across the state of Meghalaya for which the recruitment process is likely to be taken up soon.
"In this regard, I would like to invite your attention that the draft model notification of the Department of Posts prescribing Hindi or English as the local language for engagement of Gramin Dak Sevaks in Meghalaya," Sangma said while adding that this criterion of Hindi and English as local language narrows down the chances of local youths to avail this employment opportunity as they have to compete with candidates from outside the State who normally score better in these languages.
According to the CM, among candidates who are selected from outside the state, very few normally join in Meghalaya considering its remoteness and tough geographical terrain.
Even those who join, opt out for posting to their respective home State by exercising the option available to them under the existing service rules of postal employees after putting in one year's service. As such the very purpose of opening BPOs in remote villages in Meghalaya will be defeated, he added.
