Kerala PSC clerk rank list: Appointment pace significantly lower than previous term

Thiruvananthapuram: Even after five months of the publication of the Kerala PSC clerk rank list for various departments, only one-fourth of the appointments made during the previous list period have been completed. So far, only 369 candidates have received appointment recommendations across 14 districts. Earlier, 1,455 appointments were made during the same period under the previous rank list.

The sharp decline in appointments is primarily due to the local body election code of conduct and the extensive revision of the voter list, which have prevented departments from accurately reporting vacancies.

Of the total appointments made so far, 221 are filling Non-Joining Duty (NJD) vacancies. The remaining appointments have been utilised to clear pending vacancies under differently-abled reservation categories. As a result, almost no fresh vacancies have been generated after the new clerk rank list came into force.

The situation is expected to worsen with the enforcement of the assembly election code of conduct. A significant number of employees are scheduled to retire in April and May. But their promotions and vacancy reporting are delayed because of election protocols and SIR procedures, further slowing recruitment.

The new rank list for 14 districts includes 20,589 candidates, comprising 9,945 in the main list, 10,202 in the community reservation sub-list and 442 in the differently-abled sub-list. This is 2,929 fewer than the previous rank list.

Thiruvananthapuram has the highest number of candidates with 2,239 names on the list, followed by Ernakulam with more than 2,000. Wayanad has the smallest list, with just 715 names.