Stop Bank Recruitment Exams, Kannada Authority Tells CM Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: The Kannada Development Authority has written to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, asking him to stop the bank recruitment exams in early September as it uses a “faulty process” that reduces the chances of Kannadigas.

In a letter to the state government, authority chairman S G Siddaramaiah said Kannadigas are losing out on the opportunity of getting bank jobs as only English and Hindi are must for candidates.

The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection, which holds exams to recruit bank staff every year, has recently notified about 9,000 vacancies in Karnataka, the KDA chairman wrote.

“Until 2014, only candidates who have studied Kannada as one of their languages between Class 1 to 10 were hired by banks. At the time of selection, they were tested on whether they knew how to read write and speak Kannada. But ever since IBPS brought in centralised selection, only candidates who know English and Hindi are recruited. As a result, barely 300 to 400 Kannadigas make it to the 9,000 vacancies every year,” reads the letter.

The state government must immediately protest such recruitment policies as it has a direct effect on local people and organisations. If not, it could lead to a lot of activism by social organisations, the letter said.

Exams are scheduled on September 9 and 10 for recruitment to regional rural banks. The KDA chief says thousands of candidates will get to serve in rural areas, where farmers and villagers will be affected as they will not be able to communicate with such officers nor be able to avail all services.

He argued that it is important that only those who know the local language must get to work in these banks so that commoners can get easy access to services in a language that they can understand.

“I urge you to write to the central government immediately to bear pressure upon it (Centre) to hold competitive exams in the local language of every state, and stall the holding of these exams for now. Similarly, in all recruitment to Central Excise services , to the Railways , Tax departments , and other such services too done by the Central government, there should be adequate representation to people who know the local language in each state,” the KDA chairman said.