Ludhiana: Amid protest, PAU panel to see if test for recruitment can be done away with

The authorities have agreed to wave off the written test for the post of messenger only if it doesn’t open them to any legal challenge

The Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) on Wednesday announced formation of a committee to look into the possibility of waving off written test for the 219 posts of messenger after MLA Gurpreet Gogi joined the protest of contractual and daily wage workers who have been seeking job regularisation.

PAU contractual employees protest in front of the VC office in Ludhiana on Wednesday. (HT Photo)

MLA Gogi joined the demonstration in front of Thapar Hall which houses the office of the vice chancellor and other senior officials of the university. The authorities have agreed to wave off the written test for the post of messenger only if it doesn’t open them to any legal challenge.

“We had advertised the posts of beldar and messenger. For the beldar post, we had advertised a skill test, which is necessary. We will form a committee to see if waving off written test for the post of messenger is possible without running into a legal problem later as we have already advertised the same,” said vice chancellor Dr Satbir Singh Gosal.

Seeking job regularisation on the basis of seniority, the workers have been protesting for months demanding the university to forego a written test for the purpose.

In June 2023, the PAU had advertised 219 posts for messengers and beldar (workers at research farms) after three months of protest by the unregularised class 4 workers. A month after the applications closed, the university notified that the workers would have to appear for an exam to prove their eleigiblity. No subject was mentioned though, claimed the workers.

In October, around 1,200 of them appeared for the Punjabi test and 800 of them qualified. However, then they were told that this test was to only ensure if they were from the state and the next 120-mark test would comprise questions from English, maths and general knowledge.

“Even though it seems absurd to expect a person, whose job would be to carry correspondence, to have knowledge of English, maths and general knowledge, we were still looking forward to it. But then in the list that came out recently, many of us who had qualified the Punjabi exam were missing,” said Jai Singh from the workers’ union.

The workers also sought increase in age limit as only those under 37 years of age were allowed to apply, leaving out many who grew old while working here for over a decade in the hope of being regularised sometime.

VC Gosal said the university had sent a list of 351 daily wagers above 45 who had completed 10 years in service to the department of personnel, recommending their regularisation. “Now the decision is in the government’s hands,” he added.