The Hemant Soren government’s decision to relax age cut-offs for Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) aspirants will not only help the government achieve its recruitment targets, but also provide an opportunity to working professionals to switch jobs from the private sector to the public sector, academicians said on Thursday.

“At a time when the challenges in private sector are rapidly growing, leaving limited scope for employee-friendly HR policies, the government’s decision comes as an opportunity for those who want to leave their corporate jobs and join a government job,” said Dr V.P. Sharan, a city-based academician and former pro vice chancellor of Ranchi University.

The Jharkhand Cabinet on Wednesday decided that general category aspirants who were either 35-year-old or younger on August 1, 2016 will be eligible to appear for the upcoming seventh JPSC exams. Candidates belonging to the Scheduled Tribe or Scheduled Caste communities will get additional relaxations on the age cut-off as per the rules.

As per the Cabinet decision, even a 40-year-old candidate was eligible for a shot at the civil services examinations in Jharkhand. Usually, the cut-off age for appearing in JPSC exams is 35 years.

Sharan, who is currently associated with St Xavier’s College in Ranchi, said the Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on people working in the private sector with layoffs and salary cuts announced in almost all corporate houses. “Even the ones who have retained their jobs are overworked and underpaid. Most working professionals dealing with such issues are around the age of 40 years, and the government’s decision will now give them a chance to appear for the exams and make a career change,” he said.

Chief minister Hemant Soren has said on a number of occasions that year 2021 will be a year of recruitment in Jharkhand. Soon after coming to power, he said that his government would prioritise filling up vacant positions across the state and provide employment to youth.

However, some academics are of the opinion that the relaxations in the age cut-offs may not benefit job-seekers to a large extent as there were very few vacancies in the state in comparison to the enormous number of qualified yet unemployed youths.

“Around 3 lakh to 4 lakh candidates will appear for the exams, and not even 10 per cent of them will get jobs through JPSC,” said renowned economist and former Vice Chancellor of Vinoba Bhave University Dr Ramesh Sharan.

He, however, accepted that the relaxations provided by the government would benefit candidates who have been preparing for civil services for years, but could not crack the exams.

While the decision of allowing 40-year-old candidates appear for the examinations is seen as a welcome move, an economist and job analyst based out of Ranchi said that even if such candidates clear the test, they would only serve the government for 20 years. “If a candidate from the ST/SC category clears the test at the highest eligible age, then he would only serve the government for 15 years,” he said.

Jharkhand Cabinet on Wednesday also decided to give additional relaxations to ST/SC candidates appearing for the JPSC exams by doing away with the clause that the cut off marks for ST/SC candidates cannot be less than 8 per cent from the cut off for general candidates. The decision is aimed at filling up the 15 per cent quota for reserved category candidates.