RRB exam: Core demand to implement pre-2014 system unfulfilled, say oppn MPs

Bengaluru: While welcoming the government move of allowing candidates to write the Regional Rural Banks (RRB) examination, conducted by Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) in 13 languages including Kannada, several opposition MPs from Karnataka said that their main demand to hold the examination as per the pre-2014 system was not fulfilled by the Centre.

Apart from the mandatory local language proficiency clause, the pre-2014 system mandatorily required candidates appearing for clerical, Grade I officer or multi-purpose staff examinations to have studied in local language at least till Class VII.

Later, in 2014 the NDA government modified the rule and said that the selected candidate would need to learn the local language within six months of joining the duty or during his probationary period.

This modification in the rules allowed outsiders to land jobs in RRBs functioning in Karnataka depriving several Kannadigas of job opportunities, said Congress Rajya Sabha member G C Chandrashekhar.

He further said that as RRBs were functioning in small towns and villages and banking staff should know the local languages to deal with customers.

Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy had written to the Finance minister stating that dilution of local language proficiency requirement rule by the IPBS was against the very purpose of establishment of RRBs which are meant to cater the needs of rural people.