Is the excitement over the UPSC results hyped way beyond their credentials blurring all other fields of professions into oblivion?
Once again, the UPSC ( Union Public Service Commission) results are out and there are excited crowds lauding the big winners where the UPSC is creating a big stir with the Media abuzz with the news, and in all this, something rings out as unfair to the larger Indian public.
In judging why this is so, there are many drawbacks in going gaga over the results.
Firstly, the seats are limited for the UPSC posts, amid the millions of candidates who are persuaded to invest two to eight of their most productive youthful years into mugging up material that will have little practical application in their earnings prospects, if they do not get through.
While this is true of any career, most millions are hoodwinked into getting into the rigmarole of the UPSC with few options to try again, unlike the medical, engineering, research, or scientific fields which have umpteen options.
After all this, just a few will get posts, and the rest will fade into nothing, those years they studied were wasted and would leave them feeling upset and tricked, probably.
Secondly, the propagation behind UPSC is in the hype itself, which is overplayed, unfortunately. In fact, sad to say, a lot of the aspirants are simple graduates with rather raw training. They are equated with knowledge but most of it is just raw and memorized, and not researched or introspected, unlike in the field of doctors, scientists and others.
Even when they do get into posts, many are still unskilled and untrained for tasks, which is why one sees the level of corruption in the bureaucracy in India. Had UPSC training invested in more life skills, the bureaucracy would have been better trained to interact with the public of India. The training in UPSC, I deduce is insufficient with just a graduate level.
Thirdly, other career lines are underplayed with the extra hype of UPSC, and professions such as doctors, engineers, professors, scientists, researchers who have studied for years and completed their post-graduation, master of philosophy are often ignored for their accomplishments, nor are their results applauded by the Media.
Fourthly, one of the “carrots” to entice the aspiring flock is the use of the word “power”. Equating the IAS to power is humiliating democracy. Does it mean the IAS officer is not bound by the law? The word “power” in a government can only be used in a dictatorship and these are dangerous waters to play on.
While bureaucracy does represent power, one often sees bureaucracy bolstered by goons and misused to target and control the masses. Telling simple graduates be in the IAS to use their power is like telling untrained monkeys to use swords. It is imperative that people in government positions learn higher life skills such as even psychology and morality as part of their subjects!
An honest IAS officer can do a lot for society and can be greatly used for nation-building, but a corrupt one taints the nation’s future. If IAS officers have better training, insight, and understanding, they could rise above corruption and cut out of the system that controls them too.
However, it seems with the extra excitement over the UPSC result seems there is an unfair imbalance going on, especially in a democracy such as India where all professions need equality. But one cannot be surprised because a lot of things are topsy-turvy and lopsided, without a bird’s eye view.
While millions of aspirants each year desire to clear the IAS Examination so that they achieve their dream to be in the Indian Administrative Service, just a handful gets through and that is the biggest eyewash for the aspirants.