SHILLONG: Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui has hailed the decision of the Union cabinet to set up the multi- agency body National Recruitment Agency (NRA) while maintaining that language will not be a barrier as youths from the state are cultured to appear in English, Hindi and few other languages as well.
Rymbui was reacting to Wednesday’s decision of the Union Cabinet to set up ‘National Recruitment Agency’ for conducting a Common Eligibility Test (CET) to screen or shortlist candidates for the Group B and C (non-technical) posts.
The NRA will have representatives of Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Finance/Department of Financial Services, the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) and the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS), according to an official statement.
The idea of a single body to conduct a Common Eligibility Test would save time and energy for students, Rymbui said, while adding that the move will help youths of the country as they can appear the CET in whichever language they are comfortable with.
It may be mentioned that the CET will be conducted in 12 major Indian languages. Earlier examinations for recruitment to Central government jobs were held only in English and Hindi.
Asked whether it would be a drawback for eligible candidates from Meghalaya as Khasi and Garo languages are yet to be included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, Rymbui said that there are 28 languages of which the Union government chose 12. “It’s a fair deal,” he added.
“It would be wrong to say that the decision will prove to be a setback for youths of the state, as they have been cultured to appear in English, Hindi and other languages recognised in the Eight Schedule,” the minister noted.
Refusing to comment further, he said that the NRA has just been approved and he was yet to understand the nitty-gritty of the same.
