In a major initiative aimed at promoting Punjabi language, Punjab Government has made Punjabi eligibility test compulsory for the candidates vying for Group C and D posts of State Government. The candidates have to clear the Punjabi eligibility test by securing at least 50 percent marks over and above the stipulated recruitment exam for the respective post.
The decision, to promote Punjabi language, was taken by the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann while chairing a meeting with the officers. “It would be now mandatory for all the candidates appearing for recruitment for Group C and D posts to qualify Punjabi eligibility test with minimum 50 percent marks prior competing for the requisite recruitment exam for the respective posts,” said Mann.
It was also informed in the meeting that the State Government has already kick-started a massive recruitment drive with 26,454 jobs including a large number of posts from amongst group ‘C’ and ‘D’.
Meanwhile, taking cognizance of the media reports regarding the examination conducted by the Punjab Public Service Commission for recruitment to 78 posts of Naib-Tehsildar in English only, PPSC chairman Jagbans Singh on Tuesday clarified that the rules of procedure prescribed by the PPSC for its functioning clearly stipulate that the question paper be set in English language only and all such examinations in the past too have been conducted in English only.
“The only exception to the aforesaid rule is the Punjab State Civil Services Combined Competitive Examination – both preliminary and main – where it is mandated by the Government notified rules to conduct the examination in both English and Punjabi,” he clarified.
Referring to the issue raised by media regarding the examination of Naib Tehsildars recently conducted by PPSC, the chairman averred that the question paper, which consisted of multiple-choice questions requiring candidates only to select the correct option out of the four given options, was set in English language.
However, the minimum eligible qualification for the post of Naib Tehsildar is graduation and a graduate in any stream is expected to have a basic knowledge of English that enables him or her to choose correct options in multiple-choice questions. Therefore, no written expression of language is required to answer questions in such examinations, added the PPSC chairman.
