On July 29, the office of Uttar Pradesh Secondary Education Service Selection Board in Prayagraj had some unexpected visitors. They were sit-in protestors — holders of degrees like Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed) and Bachelor’s in Education (B.Ed), eligible to teach in government schools. Among hundreds of them was Rajat Singh, who led the protest demanding immediate recruitment for primary level faculties in U.P.’s government schools.

“Our age is passing. In the last five years, no recruitment was initiated by the government. Even the recruitment undertaken faces legal challenges,” said Mr. Singh, who heads the DELED Morcha, a group of D.El.Ed degree holders seeking jobs.

Second-lowest income

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation said U.P. had the second-lowest per capita income of all States at ₹70,792 in 2021-22 (measured in terms of Net State Domestic Product at 2011-12 constant prices). Hence, any government job is viewed by those from poor, lower-middle and middle-class families as the best option for upward social mobility with millions taking the recruitment tests.

Among the millions is Kshitiz Sharma, 24, who holds a Masters in Economics apart from D.El.Ed.

“These degrees are worthless. I am willing to do any job. I even coached for the constable examination, which was later canceled over the paper leak allegations,” he said.

U.P. constable recruitment examination notified in December 2023, for 60,244 posts in the lowest category of the police workforce, highlighted the seriousness of unemployment in India’s most populous State. As many as 48.17 lakh aspirants filled the form to write the test at 2,385 centres across 75 districts, despite the eligibility criteria to appear in the test being only a higher secondary graduate. Mr. Sharma was one of the aspirants. Of the total registered candidates, roughly 43 lakh hailed from U.P.

When asked what led to so many of the State’s youth to apply for a constable’s job, Mr. Sharma replied, “hope of a stable income and a better social status; I will get low-paying jobs without social security in the private sector.” The 24-year-old’s father is a farmer with five acres of land.

U.P. contributes just 8% to the nation’s manufacturing output, despite having 18% of its population.

Paper leaks

The police constable recruitment exam held on February 17 and 18, was canceled over paper leak allegations. The State government in the last six months has canceled two major recruitment examinations after conducting them. The Review Officer/Assistant Review Officer examination conducted by the U.P. Public Service Commission on February 11, was canceled two weeks after 10,76,004 candidates took it to fill only 411 jobs. U.P. will hold the constable re-examination in August.

Weeks after the 2024 poll outcome, in which the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s tally witnessed a sharp decline, the U.P. government’s focus turned toward ‘youth’ with the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath holding meetings with chairpersons of State recruitment commissions and announcing plans to implement a new law that would ‘stop’ paper leaks. He also issued directions to speed up the appointment process for vacant posts across departments and to send immediate requests where posts were vacant.

New laws

“The government is dedicated to safeguarding youths interests, valuing their hard work and talent. It’s imperative to enact laws to address such criminal activities,” Mr. Adityanath said at a meeting with chairpersons of various selection commissions. 

Experts points to the lack of industrialisation as the main factor behind the race for government jobs.

“This rush for government jobs in a low income and rural economy like U.P. is because youths view this as the best option for a stable income,” said Kesana Srinivasa Rao, an economist based at the Giri Institute of Developmnent Studies in Lucknow.