By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 21: The recent recruitment of 194 nursing officers in NEIGRIHMS has raised some eyebrows with the KSU expressing resentment over the alleged discrepancies in the recruitment process.
The student body, on Thursday, asked Health Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh to ensure that future selection tests for recruitment in NEIGRIHMS are conducted only by the institute and that local indigenous tribals are given equal and fair opportunities.
The Union reiterated that appointments for Group B and Group C posts should be given only after completion of due procedures and verification.
In a communiqué to Lyngdoh, the Union expressed resentment that AIIMS, New Delhi, which conducted the test to fill up 194 vacant posts of nursing officers in NEIGRIHMS, selected 175 male candidates and only 19 female candidates.
“To the utter dismay of the Union, only a handful of approximately 15 candidates, who were selected, belong to the indigenous tribal community of the state,” the KSU said.
It pointed out that nursing is a profession upheld by a majority of females and this is duly followed by other prestigious medical institutes based on the 80:20 ratio for females and males respectively.
“But it saddens to see that it is completely opposite in NEIGRIHMS. Moreover, all the candidates, who have been selected, have little or no experience at all as most of them have only cleared their theoretical examination from their respective institutes with no real practical experience to back them up and this will affect the health services to be rendered to the public,” the KSU said.
Highlighting the ongoing Group B and Group C recruitment, the Union stated, “This examination was conducted by an agency with the nomenclature HLL through CBT mode.
It was observed that a large number of the local indigenous candidates were not able to appear for it as the centres of examination were allotted in Guwahati, Jorhat, Dibrugarh and Delhi.”
Stating that local indigenous candidates have been deprived of the opportunity, the KSU said, “Moreover, this very agency set question in the Hindi language for the post of Record Clerk, going beyond the specific guidelines and syllabus,” the Union said.
“The Union finds it bogus and phony that candidates from Meghalaya need to give their examination in other states for recruitment of post(s) in the state and this is not the first time that this has happened and the Union cannot allow it to be a precedence…” the KSU said.
Further, it stated that all these things done by the agency made the local indigenous candidates believe that there were specific instructions from some authorities to allot these posts to people from other states.
Stating that it came to learn that the selection/screening committee is being coerced to publish and send out appointment letters hastily without formally verifying proper documentation and following due procedures, the KSU said, “This may lead to the selection of an undeserved candidate or may create room for favouritism and nepotism. The Union is of the opinion that appointment letters must only be given once all the procedures are duly followed.”
The Union questioned the authorities if NORCET examination for the nursing officers and CBT examination conducted by HLL for Group B and Group C are beneficial for the indigenous tribals and the healthcare services for the people of the state.
Stating that with so much of lapses and incompetence, the healthcare services rendered by NEIGRIHMS are surely going to decline drastically, the KSU stated, “Thus, the Union is of the opinion that, in the near future any recruitment must be done and conducted by NEIGRIHMS itself to avoid any discrepancies and that the local indigenous tribals of the state are given equal and fair opportunities.”
“…the Union would like to reiterate its stand that appointment for the ongoing Group B and Group C posts must be given only after due procedures and verification is completed,” it added.