Assam's Education Minister Ranoj Pegu expressed his concerns over the poor performance of candidates from Northeast India in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exams.
"We are seriously lagging behind. It’s a matter of serious concern. HEIs of NE must prepare young aspirants for Civil Services and may collaborate with Private Institutions. Sharing a few important slides," said the tweet by Pegu. Pegu made the observation on the sidelines of a seminar organised by the Takshashila School of Civil Services.
Pegu's statement is significant considering the current representation of Northeast candidates in Indian civil services stands at 1.62% as per official data.
In the past three years, the vacancies for North East have also taken a hit. While the total number of vacancies in 2022 stood at 1,011 with only 20 being selected, only nine were selected for 861 vacant seats. A total of 796 vacancies were available in 2020 with only nine eligible candidates being selected.
As per the 2015 census, among Northeastern states Assam performed the poorest in terms of IAS representation with only 1.39% compared to Mizoram which had the highest number of IAS officers at 23.6%.
