SHILLONG, March 18: Taking up the interests of the indigenous communities in Meghalaya — Khasi, Jaintia and Garo — with the MDA, North Shillong MLA Adelbert Nongrum on Thursday urged upon the state government to raise the upper age limit to apply for government jobs.
Moving the resolution in the Assembly, Nongrum said the current upper age limit of 32 years for Scheduled Tribes (STs) was suited for the 1970s, 80s and 90s, when there were less educated youths and jobs were aplenty.
“At present, the same kind of job procedure/eligibility for aspirants is not suited. Hence, we have to adapt to the ever-changing times as other states in India have done so far as age eligibility is concerned,” the North Shillong MLA said.
According to him, Meghalaya has the lowest cut-off in terms of age for tribal populace, at 32 years, while Tripura has the highest cut-off at 45 years. “Assam and Manipur have the second-highest age cut-off for STs at 43 years for any government post including their own state service,” he said.
The KHNAM legislator, however, suggested that Meghalaya should adopt the upper age limit of 34 years, with four years relaxation (38 years) for Khasi, Jaintia and Garo, and 40 years for those applying for MCS, MPS, MFoS and MFS.
In his reply, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma admittedly told the House that upping the age limit would give fair chance to more aspiring candidates and also a second opportunity to those who were unsuccessful in the preceding competitive examination.
Regardless, pointing out a disadvantage to enhancing the upper age limit, Conrad said that young aspirants, who have just graduated and seeking employment opportunities, would be discouraged. This clearly shows that there are pros and cons to increase the upper age limit for applying to jobs, he asserted.
Sangma also pointed out that there are uniformed services which have set a physical standard for recruitment. “Increasing the upper age limit for such posts is not practical,” the chief minister said.
He further stated that the duties of a Meghalaya Civil Service (MCS) officer, especially of a field-level post, is physically demanding, while adding that the junior duty post officer spends the first 10-15 years of service in the field.
According to him, if the upper age limit is increased, there would be very less time to garner experience, adding that there will be fewer avenues for promotion.
Following the introduction of the new defined pension scheme 2010, the pensionary benefit is based solely on the factor of contribution, Conrad said, adding that retirement benefits might not be viable for an individual with less years of service.
