New recruits to Postal Department should clear regional language test: Madurai MP

Test on regional language should be included in recruitment of staff for the Postal Department to ensure proper services to the people, said Madurai MP, Su. Venkatesan.

In a letter addressed to the Union Minister for Communication, Ashwini Vaishnav, he said that earlier a regional language test was conducted when recruitment was done by the Department.

However, after recruitment for the posts of Postal Assistant, Sorting Assistant and Inspectors was handed over to Staff Selection Commission, the practice of test on regional language was not being conducted.

The new recruits have to interact with people as part of their job and Inspectors have to deal with functioning of village post offices, Mr. Venkatesan said.

People approaching them for services have to encounter lot of hardships and confusion. They are also not able to discharge their responsibilities effectively.

“Among the 60 Inspectors recruited directly for Tamil Nadu in the last 10 years, 57 are from other States,” he said.

Since postal services connect crores of people and with most of them living in rural areas, it was important for the staff to know the local language, the MP said.