Academy churns officers in dozens

It was after a gap of  22 years that a candidate from Kerala got the first rank after Raju Narayana Swami achieved the feat in 1991.

But what came as the icing on cake was the fact that Kerala students bagged three out of the five top ranks in civil service exams this year. Apart from Haritha, Sriram Venkitaraman of Kochi and Alby John Varghese of Muvattupuzha secured the second and fourth ranks in the examinations.

There were also three other Malayalis in the top 20 - Arun Thamburaj, Rahul and Thanupriya who bagged sixth, thirteenth and eighteenth rank in the examinations. Even though most of these students completed their studies for Mains outside the state, they had their training at Kerala Civil Services Academy under the State Government.

Of the total 52 students who qualified from the state, 35 were from the academy. These students were adopted by the state as per a scheme under which candidates from state who cleared the preliminary examinations would automatically be selected to the academy.They are provided free coaching for main examinations and also equipped to face the interview with the help of special mock interview sessions. Interview panel normally consists of former top bureaucrats.

Among other incentives given to the students include conveyance charge for attending the interview besides free lodging at Kerala House. But more importantly the panel of visiting lecturers including former diplomat  T. P. Sreenivasan and  DGP Alexander Jacob have made a significant difference. Regular classes are taken by both retired and serving senior teachers of reputed colleges like University College teachers.

Apart from this, classes by practising psychologists are also conducted. Many believe this kind of training makes the aspirants mentally tough and helps them face any situation. Now the academy has decided to extend its facilities in Malabar region by starting centres in Palakkad and Kozhikode.

The classes at these centres would start in January, according to academic coordinator P K Sankaran Kutty Nair.  The centre at Palakkad would function in a new building on the campus of Government Victoria College, Palakkad. The Kozhikode Centre would function at the building of Government UPS West Hill.