According to the State Employment Board (ESB), there were more than 939,000 applications for 7,500 positions, meaning an average of 13,000 people competing for one spot.

“Easy degree, weak skills” - the root cause

ESB began accepting online applications on September 15, with the deadline extended to October 6 instead of September 29 as originally planned. The entrance exam will take place from October 30.

According to Bhaskar English , among those who applied were 42 PhDs and 12,000 engineers. Many highly educated people said they were forced to apply because of a lack of suitable job opportunities.

Mr Shailendra Srivastava, former Transport Commissioner and former senior police officer (IPS), blamed widespread unemployment and poor quality of education .

“Many students can get an engineering degree very easily, but do not have a deep understanding of their major. Therefore, they choose jobs that are easier to get into instead of requiring high technical skills,” he explained.

PhD Degree.jpg
The unemployment rate among those with high degrees in India, including PhDs and masters, is not small.
Photo: The Times of India

Police profession in India is attractive because of stability

According to Mr. Srivastava, police jobs are increasingly popular because of their stability, security and longevity, especially in the context of a lack of jobs in the private sector. Many young people see this as a “realistic escape” in a difficult labor market.

“I finished my engineering studies but couldn’t find a job. Now I have joined the police and started jogging every day to prepare for the physical test,” said Ramkumar Tiwari, an engineering graduate from Chandia (Umaria).

Ishan Awasthi, an MBA graduate, said he took up government work because of family financial pressures: “There was no stable private job, so I applied for the police exam.”

Tanmay Singh Parihar, a master's student, said that his family has someone working in the industry so he also wants to follow: "I will start from the lowest position and then try to take the exam to become an inspector."

The recruitment process for junior police positions in India consists of three rounds: Written exam (equivalent to high school level), physical test, and background check.

Successful candidates will receive a salary ranging from 19,500 to 62,000 rupees per month (about 5.7 to 18.4 million VND).

Private employment is shrinking.

“Even PhDs find it difficult to find jobs in the private sector. Although government salaries are not high, at least there is stability,” said Tarun Kumar, who teaches entrance exams to top engineering colleges in India.

He said that over the past 10 years, too many students have been studying engineering and science , while the social sciences have been neglected, leading to an imbalance in supply and demand for human resources. Therefore, more and more highly educated people are participating in civil service recruitment exams, even for low positions such as police, just to have a stable job to support themselves.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/tien-si-ky-su-do-xo-thi-cong-chuc-ty-le-13-000-nguoi-canh-tranh-mot-suat-2450144.html