For most job seekers, receiving an appointment order marks the successful end of a long journey. For Muchikkal Abdul Majeed of Malappuram, however, it has become a story of extraordinary delay and disappointment.
After waiting for more than two decades for a Public Service Commission appointment, the 60-year-old finally received an advice memo last month, only to find himself on the verge of retirement before he could begin service.
Majeed, a resident of Anchachavidi near Kalikavu, has now sought the intervention of the Chief Minister and the concerned ministers, hoping for a resolution. He has also indicated that he may approach the courts if administrative action is not taken.
As reported on Gold 101.3 FM, UAE’s No.1 Radio Station, the case has drawn attention to the impact prolonged bureaucratic delays can have on individuals who spend years waiting for government employment opportunities.
Majeed appeared for the Kerala PSC examination in 2005 for the post of Part-Time Junior LPS Language Teacher (Arabic) in Thrissur district under Category Number 229/2005. At the time, he was 39 years old and secured the 12th rank in the rank list, which remained valid until 2008.
According to Majeed, the rank list included a vacancy reserved under the NCA category. The PSC reportedly issued notifications on three occasions to fill the post, but no eligible candidates came forward. Under normal procedure, the vacancy should then have been offered to the next eligible candidate on the list, making him eligible for appointment.
Government regulations stipulate that the validity period for each notification should not exceed three months, meaning the process should ordinarily have been completed within a year. However, the vacancy remained unresolved for nearly 18 years.
The reserved post was eventually reported to the Thrissur PSC office as a non-joining duty vacancy only on January 11, 2022. Even then, the process did not move quickly. It took almost four more years for the PSC to issue an appointment recommendation in Majeed’s favour.
By the time the appointment order finally arrived on April 26 this year, Majeed had already reached the official retirement age, leaving him unable to fully benefit from the opportunity he had waited decades to receive.
Complicating matters further is a discrepancy in his official records. Majeed says his date of birth is recorded in his SSLC book as May 27, 1966, which he believes was an error made during school admission. He maintains that his actual date of birth is May 27, 1967 and claims to possess supporting documents to prove it.
Majeed now hopes that if the date-of-birth discrepancy is corrected through the proper channels, he may still be able to serve for at least a year before reaching retirement age.
His case highlights the challenges faced by candidates caught in lengthy administrative processes and raises questions about delays in filling vacancies that can have life-changing consequences for those awaiting appointments.
