Next time a constable stops you, bear in mind that he/she might just be an overqualified MBA, here for the ‘benefits’. As has been the trend the last couple of years, the city police recruitment drive for 2018 — to fill 1,449 vacancies — saw around 109 MBAs, 1,978 MAs, 543 MComs, 423 engineers, and 5 lawyers.
The basic requirement for the job is Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) or Class 12 pass, but like last year, around 27,063 BA, 6,701 BCom and 4,698 BSc graduates threw their hat in the ring for the few open slots. The recruitment drive was held between March and July.
Senior officials claim that unemployment, coupled with the benefits of a police job, compel many overqualified candidates to apply for the open positions.
Ultimately, among those who made the final cut, there were still a high number of overqualified candidates as 436 graduates and 27 post-graduates were alongside 986 HSC candidates. “There are a lot of benefits that one gets in this job. Apart from the police quarters, there are medical benefits for the whole family. There are also ample leaves offered so over the last few years, we have been seeing this trend,” said Santosh Rastogi, Joint Commissioner of Mumbai Police, Administration. He adds that there are more candidates from the rural areas over urban areas, as they fare better on their physicals that require a certain level of fitness. Aurangabad, Solapur and Nashik are among the top towns that send candidates for the recruitment exams.
Interestingly, former senior police officials said that besides unemployment, a major reason that overqualified candidates apply is the aspiration of becoming a sub-inspector.
“There are three ways to hire a sub-inspector. One is through external recruitment from the public service examinations; second is promotion, which can take years for an underqualified constable. However, when educated constables get recruited, they apply for direct departmental exams and become sub-inspector. This aspiration inspires many educated candidates to opt for this,” said MN Singh, former Police Commissioner of Mumbai Police.
Singh adds that this is not a healthy trend, as in a traditionally hierarchical police service, many then have to take orders from lesser-educated seniors and do odd jobs not befitting their educational stature. This leads to disgruntled workers, who then resort to corrupt practices.
STAT TALLY POINT TO TREND
- To fill 1,449 vacancies — around 109 MBAs, 1,978 MAs, 543 MComs, 423 engineers, and 5 lawyers put in their application
- In the final cut, 436 graduates and 27 post-graduates were alongside 986 HSC candidates
- In 2017, around 1,678 vacancies were filled by 1,163 HSC, 482 graduates and 33 post-graduates
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