more-in P.K. Haneefa, Chairman of the Kerala State Commission for Minorities, expressed disappointment over the poor participation of minority community youths in various government-sponsored training programmes for clearing competitive examinations. Mr. Haneefa told The Hindu during a sitting here on Wednesday that special funds sanctioned by the Union and State governments for the purpose were proving to be a waste with the lackadaisical approach of the targeted group. “There are exclusive coaching centres and sub-centres in every district to train minority community youths to prepare for Public Service Commission examinations, but only very few make use of the opportunity.” Hence, many PSC openings were remaining underutilised by the targeted communities. Mr. Haneefa revealed that there were even youths who approached the commission in search of job openings at the government sector without taking any personal pain to undergo training at any of the government-supported centres. “This kind of a lethargic and casual approach would take themnowhere in the highly competitive social environment.” The laxity was most visible in the Muslim community, he said. “However, the Christian minorities have taken up the openings very positively and the community is offering warm support to the trainees,” he observed. During the sitting, the Chairman came across a complaint in which a postgraduate in Business Administration from Kozhikode sought waiver of his education loan citing poor income. “The youth claimed that he was working in the hotel industry with poor income. He was also not found interested in attending even the PSC examinations for better job opportunities. With such an approach, how one would be able to advance in the career,” he asked. On Wednesday, the commission considered 44 complaints from Wayanad, Kannur, and Kozhikode districts of which 10 were settled. One of the main complaints settled was on the pending disbursal of honorarium for 208 part-time Urdu teachers in Kerala. Following the commission’s intervention, the government sanctioned ?24.10 lakh for the purpose. On a petition, the commission also decided to initiate legal proceedings under the Minority Act against an Executive Engineer of the Public Works Department’s Roads and Bridges wing for not appearing before the commission in a case even after issuing three notices.

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