Stiff competition: 1,048 graduates vie for each AEDO post in Bihar

Bihar sees record 9.80 lakh applications for 935 AEDO posts, with 1,048 applicants per seat, reflecting high demand for government jobs.

For one seat, 1,048 applicants! That is the kind of competition for the post of assistant education development officer (AEDO) in the state.

Aspirants at an exam centre in Patna (HT FILE )

The Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) has received 9.80 lakh applications for 935 posts of AEDO. BPSC officials say this is the highest ever. The exam is scheduled in January.

Call it an impact of ₹100 exam fee cap for all competitive preliminary exams ahead of election introduced by the Bihar government or an indication of the unmatched craving for government jobs, this is a clear reflection of the quantum of educated unemployed in the state.

BPSC chairman Parmar Ravi Manubhai said it was a fact that such a large number of applications had not been received for any exam in the past, but it could be attributed to many factors, including timely conduct of exams and publication of results by the commission.

The Bihar government had capped the preliminary examination fee for all state-level competitive government job exams at ₹100 in August last and waived the fee for the main exams for successful candidates in a bid to reduce the financial burden on young job seekers.

“The fee of ₹100 has also made it easier for the applicants, but that cannot be the only factor. What I see is the growing confidence among applicants that the exam and results would be on time and fairly. Last year alone, we sent 1.17 recommendations to the state government for various posts and they joined. The figures for this year will be known in April. So, that is what builds confidence,” he added.

The position of AEDO, having pay scale of ₹29,200 to ₹92,300 (Level-5) , was created to improve the execution and monitoring of education policies and programmes at the local level for effective implementation and outcome.

A senior official of the education department said the big response was due to participation by a good number of in-service teachers, as well as those in other services due to the better pay-scale and prospects.

The BPSC chairman, however, said it would be a challenge to conduct exams for such a large number of candidates and it could be in multiple phases.

“We will decide on it soon considering all the aspects. With the introduction of multiple question paper sets, the ghost of question paper leak is now well and truly buried. Some coaching people had earlier tried to create a challenge for their vested interest, but they got exposed both in the High Court as well as in the public. The students have also developed faith in the way BPSC functions,” he added.

On Teachers’ Recruitment Test (TRE-4), the chairman said any decision on this is pulls be taken only after receiving the requisition from the education department. “We have not received the requisition so far. Once that comes, we will start the process,” he added.

The TRE-4 was earlier scheduled to be held from December 16-19 to give opportunities to successful candidates of the STET, to be conducted before that.