Coimbatore: Preference should be given to those candidates, who are proficient in Tamil, while appearing for bank examinations, a group of job seekers demanded here on Thursday.Customers find it difficult to communicate with bank clerks who don't know the local language, a job seeker told reporters. "It was mandatory for all candidates to appear for an interview to prove their proficiency in Tamil. But, the interview process was abolished in 2015," Rasik Sayed said.After the Institute of Banking and Personnel Selections stopped conducting interviews, candidate from other States began appearing for the exam in Tamil Nadu, said Ashok Kumar, another job seeker."This year, there are 1,277 clerk-level vacancies in Tamil Nadu, higher than Kerala, Karnataka and even Andhra Pradesh. Because of that, candidates from those States choose places in Tamil Nadu as the centre to write the exam. If they secure a higher rank, they get posted here, irrespective of whether they are proficient in Tamil. Customers will find it difficult to communicate with them. Also, such employees will find it difficult to explain about new schemes to the customers," Rasik Sayed said. The newspaper advertisement for the examination clearly states that Tamil knowledge is preferred, he added.Though as many as seven lakh candidates from Tamil Nadu write the bank exam for the 1,277 vacancies, it is the students from other States who are likely to get the jobs, the job seekers said.

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