For many aspirants, the security and stability of government employment remain compelling despite the shrinking number of vacancies
Arenjungla Kichu Mokokchung | 17 September
The announcement of just 11 vacancies for the upcoming Nagaland Staff Selection Board (NSSB) examination has once again brought into focus the widening gap between the number of young people seeking government employment and the limited number of posts available.
The latest recruitment comes against the backdrop of the Nagaland government’s repeated position that the government sector has become saturated and cannot continue to serve as the primary avenue for absorbing the state’s educated youth.
But for many aspirants, the government job remains an important route to stability and security, with some continuing to invest years of preparation despite the increasingly narrow number of opportunities.
In 2022, the first NSSB recruitment exercise saw around 50,000 candidates competing for about 600 Grade III posts, illustrating the scale of demand for government employment. The latest recruitment, by comparison, offers only 11 vacancies.
The announcement of 11 posts has also drawn reactions on social media. In a post, @quiet.monologues described the upcoming NSSB examination as a “statistical nightmare”, saying the competition could be exceptionally high for individual posts.
“When 500 candidates are forced to compete for just one LDA seat,” the post said, the competition becomes harder “purely due to selection odds”. It said candidates spend years “burning through their energy, finances and emotional well being”, only to be offered “breadcrumbs”.
The post appealed to the NSSB to hold back “micro vacancies” until a substantial batch accumulates, instead of putting thousands of aspirants through years of preparation for only a handful of seats.
The claim of 500 candidates competing for one LDA post could not be independently verified.
For the aspirants themselves, however, the cost of the pursuit is already tangible.
For Nola, who has been preparing for three years, time has been the biggest investment, alongside expenses on study materials, accommodation and travel. Nola cited family pressure, maintaining motivation and wellbeing as challenges, but intends to continue preparing because she sees government employment as offering greater security and long-term stability. Banking and other fields related to her qualifications remain alternatives.
Nilotoli, who has been preparing for around a year and a half, said she studies eight to 10 hours a day, with coaching costing around Rs 60,000 to Rs 90,000 or more depending on the institute. She said the preparation also involves physical and emotional sacrifices, while government jobs remain attractive for their stability and social preference.
If she is unsuccessful after several attempts, she may pursue higher studies with the aim of teaching at a college, although she does not consider that career path equally secure.
Anazi Stm, who has been preparing for about a year, described the situation as “limited vacancy with unlimited competition.”
Job security, adequate pay and additional benefits were among the reasons Anazi gave for preferring government employment, while the preparation itself requires substantial mental, physical and emotional investment.
If the government route does not work out, Anazi said farming could be an alternative means of livelihood, although it would not provide the same certainty.
For Shokum L, who has also been preparing for about a year, competition for the available government posts is “very hard”.
Shokum said the amount of time, money and effort required for preparation was “way too much”, but viewed business as a reliable alternative.
Wimejaplubo, another aspirant with about a year of preparation, described the competition as “very high” and said government jobs remain attractive because they are viewed as “future proof jobs”.
At the same time, Wimejaplubo said business could provide an equally secure and attractive alternative.
Government messaging has increasingly encouraged young people to look towards skills, entrepreneurship and private-sector employment as alternatives to public employment.
Yet the experiences of the five aspirants point to a more complicated picture.
Some are prepared to turn to business or farming. Others consider teaching, banking or careers linked to their qualifications. But for those who continue to prepare for government recruitment, security and stability remain powerful considerations.
The 11 vacancies have therefore brought into focus a larger question: as the state moves towards a smaller public-sector employment pool, what happens to a generation that has spent years preparing for government jobs, and why does government employment remain such a powerful aspiration?
