Why did educated segments of West Bengal purchase jobs at school?

By Harasankar Adhikari
For a long time, unemployment has been a serious and vital crisis in India. It is very intense in West Bengal. There is no significant vacancy for the replacement of youth with various degrees. For an extended period of time, there are no industries or production sectors. Only urban centric service sectors are in operation. There is no employment guarantee with justified incentives. Second, these jobs are not prestigious or dignified for those with advanced degrees. And the West Bengal government has done nothing to effectively absorb this section. It results in huge youth migration to different parts of the country. Furthermore, degree holders in Bengal and their families seek or prefer jobs in the public sector or in public enterprises. It may be a peon's job or something like this. They have no choice of a higher or lower post. There is only one berth available in government sectors.
Local political leaders and their agents in Bengal have promoted this expectation. It concerns a job in the public sector as a platform for guaranteeing government jobs. They had a fixed rate chart (which we are getting for a few lakh rupees) for bribes for their negotiations and lobbying for job seekers in their areas. In this case, the job seekers only need a degree. Even so, it's amazing that the agent got a degree for money. The concerned department did not follow any standard rules, which we are learning from the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI during the present investigation of this scam. After a prolonged discussion and interaction with the job seekers as well as the victims, it was recorded that the job seekers got a job and they managed this amount of bribes from (1) would be father-in-law with an assurance to marry his daughter, (2) arranging this amount after selling their movable and immovable assets, and (3) taking a loan from private sources at a high rate of interest.
Now all of them are in acute social and economic crisis. It is a big problem of their living with their neighbor. Their families are almost boycotted with regard to social prestige. They are stigmatised for their corruption. Their mental health is also in crisis. It has also disrupted the education system in West Bengal. Students' and their families’ attitudes towards teachers and the education system are remarkably unhealthy.
The leaders or agents of a particular political party entice the educated, unemployed youth of Bengal. It is an open-secret for all of us. The government claims that it has opened various venues for youth's employment, and they share a statistic. All this information is practically wrong and politically biased. There is no fair selection for government jobs. The youth is depressed and remorseful. And political parties are only using this resource, and they are not creating proper space for this great resource for the betterment of the country. But they would be violent in the future. The political party and their leaders and agents should be cautious.

Comments

Tulsi Patel said…

unemployment scene is as pathetic in Rajasthan. A scene from the mushroomimg coaching centres run in various towns and cities that coach thousands of 'young graduate government job aspirants' over each of the several shifts a day racing to a mirage of non-appointing for available jobs and consistent paper leak issues that keep the mirage chaseable is heart rending. Shame on the system.

March 08, 2023

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