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Andhra to conduct DSC recruitment every year, promote sporting talent: Minister Lokesh
Minister said 3k teacher posts were filled through the DSC this year, and that around 10k had so far been filled through Group-1, Group-2 and DSC recruitments.
Andhra Pradesh Minister Nara Lokesh on Monday said the state government would conduct District Selection Committee recruitment every year and promote sporting talent by providing jobs and other support to athletes.
Addressing the first day of the monsoon session of the Assembly in Amaravati, Lokesh said the government had filled 3,000 teacher vacancies through the DSC this year as part of the Mega Job Calendar and had so far filled around 10,060 vacancies through Group-1, Group-2 and DSC recruitments.
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"The state government will conduct DSC recruitment every year as a firm commitment to the youth and is taking steps to promote sporting talent by providing government jobs and other support to athletes," the minister for Human Resources Development said.
The Teacher Eligibility Test examinations had been completed recently, he said, asserting that the recruitment process had not been halted and was moving forward as planned.
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He said the government would ensure that all selected teachers joined the system before Ugadi, provide them training for the next academic year and take responsibility for their deployment in schools.
On sports quota recruitment, Lokesh said Andhra Pradesh was committed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of ensuring that India wins Olympic gold medals and stressed that states must take sports development seriously.
He said Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had highlighted the need to dispel the misconception among young athletes that pursuing a career in sports could leave them without a secure future.
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The state government was addressing this concern by providing government jobs and land to sportspersons, Lokesh said.
Citing Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, he said the state government had provided her with a government job and land. He said she would become eligible for "IAS status in the coming years."
Lokesh highlighted Jyothi Yarraji, describing her as a track-and-field athlete from north Andhra and one of India's best prospects for the Olympics.
He said he had personally taken up her case with the Cabinet and that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu immediately approved her appointment to a government job after he submitted a note, saying she should be given the opportunity without delay.
Lokesh clarified that the objective of sports quota recruitment was not to subject sportspersons to regular tests but to encourage sporting talent by providing appointments under the sports quota.
He said that, in accordance with the Centre's recommendations, the number of recognised sports disciplines had been expanded from 29 to 65.
The sports quota recruitment process had been conducted transparently with the overall objective of encouraging athletes and strengthening India's prospects at the Olympics, he asserted.
Turning to the Mega DSC, Lokesh alleged that YSRCP leaders and members had deliberately tried to prevent the recruitment process from going ahead by approaching courts after the notification was issued.
He alleged that 141 cases were filed in 148 days, seeking to stop or stall the DSC recruitment, and said the objective was to prevent the process from moving forward.
Lokesh said the government was able to withstand the legal challenges because the Mega DSC notification had been prepared carefully and in compliance with all rules.
He said he had instructed the department that he would take serious action if the notification failed at any stage of legal scrutiny.
The minister said the notification had withstood repeated legal scrutiny despite the cases filed against it, adding that the NDA coalition government ultimately completed the Mega DSC recruitment, issued offer letters, trained the selected teachers and deployed them in schools.
Lokesh then challenged former CM and YSRCP president Jagan Mohan Reddy to come to the Assembly and debate allegations of irregularities in the Mega DSC.
He questioned why an agitation was being raised after a year when the recruitment process and teacher training had already been completed.
He said Jagan's opposition was not to him or Naidu but, according to him, amounted to questioning BR Ambedkar, who brought the reservation policy into the Constitution.
Lokesh asserted that the government was committed to implementing vertical and horizontal reservations transparently and challenged Jagan to debate the issue anywhere, either inside or outside the House.
Referring to Jagan's earlier description of himself as a "cockroach", Lokesh challenged him to a debate in the Assembly instead of holding lengthy press conferences.
"Jagan's opposition is not to the CM or me; he is questioning Ambedkar. He calls himself a cockroach, so I challenge him to come and debate with me. I am ready," Lokesh said.
