None to direct Kerala State Civil Services Academy

Thiruvananthapuram: The  Kerala State Civil Services Academy run by the state government to train civil service aspirants remains headless for the last six months after the tenure of the incumbent director G.S. Girish Kumar ended. The academy which usually organises  a reception to civil service winners from the state before  June-end has failed to do so this time.   If the reception is organised after the training at the Civil Services Academy at Mussoorie,  which is likely to commence by the mid of July, the students would find it difficult to attend the programme.

Some private agencies which ran IAS coaching centres seized the opportunity and provided reception to the candidates, sources said. The academy was set up  in 2005 after Kerala students performed dismally in 2003 and 2004 when none from the state qualified for the services. The academy produced good results with eight candidates qualifying in 2005.  Nearly 400 students from the academy have qualified for the civil services during the 12 years of its existence.

The state government gives free coaching for the main examinations besides equipping them to face the interview. The students are given conveyance charge for attending the interview besides free lodging at Kerala House, Delhi. The panel of visiting lecturers of the academy includes  former bureaucrats while regular classes are taken by both retired and serving senior teachers of reputed colleges like University College.