Kerala civil services training centres make mark

Thiruvananthapuram: The adoption scheme offered by the state government through the Kerala State Civil Service Academy from 2006 has once again proved successful. A total of 34 students from the academy qualified for the civil services this year.

The state government adopted candidates from Kerala who cleared the preliminary examinations. They get free coaching for the main examinations besides being equipped to face the interview. For this, they face mock interview sessions handled by senior bureaucrats and psychology training by practising psychologists.

Academy coordinator P. K. Sankaran Kutty told Deccan Chronicle that a large number of students from the academy had been clearing the examinations in the recent past. It should be recalled that Dr Renu Raj secured the second rank this year. In 2013, another Keralite, Haritha V. Kumar, who had completed the training at the institute, bagged the first rank, Mr Kutty said.

Asha Ajith, an MA economic graduate from Kerala University Economic Department, Kariavattom, who was ranked 40th in the civil services examinations said that in fact, the coaching at the academy helped her to perform well in the examinations.

The academy has extended its facilities in the Malabar region by starting centres in Palakkad and Kozhikode. Sources said, however, one problem with the academy was that it was facing space crunch.

Though, the state government had sanctioned Rs 5.8 crore for building a five-storeyed building in Thiruvananthapuram to house their permanent campus, the money is still unutilised. This building was to house classrooms, faculty rooms, reading rooms, a library and a hostel.

Sources said the centre of academy in Kozhikode temporarily functioning in the Government Upper Primary School, West Hill, also faced space crunch.

Though, the Higher Education Department had identified land for the Kozhikode centre and sanctioned an initial fund of Rs 56 lakh for the building, construction was still at the infant stage.

Of the amount, Rs15 lakh has already been spent on the basic infrastructure at the temporary building. The remaining Rs 40 lakh was inadequate for the permanent building.

Apart from the Kerala State Civil Services Academy, NSS IAS Academy is another reputed centre in Thiruvananthapuram offering coaching for civil services aspirants.

Its honorary director and former ambassador, T. P. Sreenivasan, said the academy admitted only a restricted number of students. Only 27 students had been admitted to their training programme for IAS main.

This was to ensure personalised coaching. Of these students, 15 including second rank-holder Renu Raj have been selected for the civil services.

Almost all IAS aspirants go for training in multiple institutes. That is why those who qualified for civil services this year including the second rank-holder who had been trained in this academy had undergone training at the government-run Kerala State Civil Services Academy also, Mr Srinivasan said.

The Ernakulam-based Institute for Psychological Empowerment Research and Training has been working on an ambitious scheme for preparing students for civil services by providing a foundation course.

Soumya M., one of the directors behind the venture, told DC that students from IPERT will be ready for appearing in the prelims only in the coming years.

“We are giving training to 400 students from 8th class onwards and some of them will be ready for appearing for the examinations in the coming years,” she said.

Though Kozhikode has a Civil Service Training Academy functioning at West Hill, Chungam, none of the students were among the rank list.

Last year, two students cleared the prelims but failed to get the mains.