In email era, 1.3 lakh vie for 248 postman vacancies
(Police are interested in…) BANGALORE: Posting letters may seem like an anachronism in the era of texting, email and social networking sites. But the job of a postman, it appears, is not. A staggering 1.3 lakh candidates have applied for 248 vacancies for postmen in the Karnataka circle of the department of posts. That's roughly 525 people vying for one post.
Nearly 40,000 applications came from Bangalore, followed by 12,000 each from Mysore and Dharwad, in the first-ever direct recruitment drive for postmen in the country. The exam will be held on February 9. Postal officials said a considerable number of the applicants are women but had no break-up of figures.
KSRP cops want postal department jobs
So why this jostle for the postal job? Chandrasekar Kakumanu, assistant postmaster general, Karnataka Circle, puts it simply: "The work isn't stressful and requisite qualification is not too high."
There is a lot of room for going up the ladder too. A postman can become a Group-B officer to head a postal district in a span of 10 years by clearing three departmental examinations, he explains.
No wonder then that the state's overworked cops too are applying for this coveted job. "We have received applications from policemen of the Karnataka State Reserve Police," says Kakumanu.
Earlier, the department would appoint postmen on a temporary basis and pay them Rs 7,000 to Rs 10,000 as token monthly salary. These temporary mail deliverers are known as 'Grameen Dak Sevaks' (GDS ) in rural areas. They wouldbecome permanent staff after serving for five years and cracking a departmental test. Currently, there are 3,700 permanent postmen and around 10,000 GDS in the state.
Times View
The seemingly absurd rush of over a lakh of people wanting to be postmen is a pointer to the future of jobs. Either the perks of this job are so attractive that more people want to grab them or there are few other jobs available for those with that level of education.
In any case, the security of a government job does have its merits in a work culture which uses pink slips to rationalize headcounts and ensure lean teams. Also, in the future, postpersons will be doing far more than just delivering mail and more applicants can only result in the best being selected for the job.
BANGALORE: Posting letters may seem like an anachronism in the era of texting, email and social networking sites. But the job of a postman, it appears, is not. A staggering 1.3 lakh candidates have applied for 248 vacancies for postmen in the Karnataka circle of the department of posts. That's roughly 525 people vying for one post.
Nearly 40,000 applications came from Bangalore, followed by 12,000 each from Mysore and Dharwad, in the first-ever direct recruitment drive for postmen in the country. The exam will be held on February 9. Postal officials said a considerable number of the applicants are women but had no break-up of figures.
KSRP cops want postal department jobs
So why this jostle for the postal job? Chandrasekar Kakumanu, assistant postmaster general, Karnataka Circle, puts it simply: "The work isn't stressful and requisite qualification is not too high."
There is a lot of room for going up the ladder too. A postman can become a Group-B officer to head a postal district in a span of 10 years by clearing three departmental examinations, he explains.
No wonder then that the state's overworked cops too are applying for this coveted job. "We have received applications from policemen of the Karnataka State Reserve Police," says Kakumanu.
Earlier, the department would appoint postmen on a temporary basis and pay them Rs 7,000 to Rs 10,000 as token monthly salary. These temporary mail deliverers are known as 'Grameen Dak Sevaks' (GDS ) in rural areas. They wouldbecome permanent staff after serving for five years and cracking a departmental test. Currently, there are 3,700 permanent postmen and around 10,000 GDS in the state.
Times View
The seemingly absurd rush of over a lakh of people wanting to be postmen is a pointer to the future of jobs. Either the perks of this job are so attractive that more people want to grab them or there are few other jobs available for those with that level of education.
In any case, the security of a government job does have its merits in a work culture which uses pink slips to rationalize headcounts and ensure lean teams. Also, in the future, postpersons will be doing far more than just delivering mail and more applicants can only result in the best being selected for the job.
When the 'man' in postman did not deter women
TNN Feb 10, 2014, 03.39AM IST
BANGALORE: The postal department is not a male domain as the term 'postman' seems to suggest.
In a written exam held for direct recruitment to 248 postman jobs on Sunday, half of the candidates were girls. The two-and-a-half-hour exam was held at 171 centres across the state.
Pooja (name changed), a BA graduate, said: "I am from a middle-class orthodox family. My parents didn't encourage me when I tried to get a job in BPOs or other private companies. They were worried about workplace harassment and night shifts." But they backed her when she said she wanted to become a post woman. "They thought it was secure and the work would be over by afternoon," said Pooja, who wrote the exam at Government RC College of Commerce and Management, Race Course Road.
Though SSLC or class X pass was the minimum qualification prescribed for the job, many aspirants were graduates and diploma holders.
Harashiya Banu, who is a BBM from Chikkaballapur, said the postman in her town finished his work in three hours. "Youngsters like me can pursue postgraduate courses through correspondence even after joining the postal service, as we'll get a lot of spare time to study," she added.
Harashiya's friend, Rumana V, who has a diploma in Computer Science, said, "They are offering Rs 20,000 per month and this is a pretty good salary for starting one's career in a government department."
Some girls were students pursuing undergraduate and pre-university courses. Pallavi KN, a final-year BA student, and Jayashree R, II-year PU student, both from Hoskote, said, "Getting a government job is difficult. We are here to gain experience in cracking examinations conducted for such jobs."
BANGALORE: The postal department is not a male domain as the term 'postman' seems to suggest.
In a written exam held for direct recruitment to 248 postman jobs on Sunday, half of the candidates were girls. The two-and-a-half-hour exam was held at 171 centres across the state.
Pooja (name changed), a BA graduate, said: "I am from a middle-class orthodox family. My parents didn't encourage me when I tried to get a job in BPOs or other private companies. They were worried about workplace harassment and night shifts." But they backed her when she said she wanted to become a post woman. "They thought it was secure and the work would be over by afternoon," said Pooja, who wrote the exam at Government RC College of Commerce and Management, Race Course Road.
Though SSLC or class X pass was the minimum qualification prescribed for the job, many aspirants were graduates and diploma holders.
Harashiya Banu, who is a BBM from Chikkaballapur, said the postman in her town finished his work in three hours. "Youngsters like me can pursue postgraduate courses through correspondence even after joining the postal service, as we'll get a lot of spare time to study," she added.
Harashiya's friend, Rumana V, who has a diploma in Computer Science, said, "They are offering Rs 20,000 per month and this is a pretty good salary for starting one's career in a government department."
Some girls were students pursuing undergraduate and pre-university courses. Pallavi KN, a final-year BA student, and Jayashree R, II-year PU student, both from Hoskote, said, "Getting a government job is difficult. We are here to gain experience in cracking examinations conducted for such jobs."
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