Excitement was running high among sportspersons at the prospect of the State government implementing two per cent reservation for them in the upcoming recruitment for thousands of jobs.
The job aspirants from sports quota were all the more happy at reports that the quota will be implemented without a cutoff date. The norm earlier in such jobs was to consider excellence in sports at national and international levels dating back up to three years only from the time of notification. Now, certificates of excellence in sports will be considered without a time limit, it was said.
The government had already declared that an order issued in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh in 2012 providing two per cent reservation in education and employment will be considered in the latest recruitment in Telangana. Sportspersons who participated anytime in their playing career in senior, junior and sub-junior national championships, all-India inter-university championships and under-14, 17 and 19 competitions of all India school games federation will be eligible to compete for jobs in the quota. But, their chances of qualifying will depend on points allotted to different categories of championships and also sports disciplines.
It was, however, not clear whether sportspersons who participated in `Khelo India’ tournaments will be considered because this was a new event initiated four years ago.
The government was also likely to be extra cautious in the recruitment drive for sportspersons in the background of a scam detected in admissions to MBBS course in various colleges of the State under the sports quota in 2017-18. Six out of 11 MBBS seats in sports quota were found to have been allotted on the basis of bogus certificates of excellence furnished by students. There were 232 applications in all under the quota.
Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao intervened in the matter and handed over investigation to the Anti-Corruption Bureau of police which arrested a Deputy Director of Sports Authority of Telangana State (SATS) and secretary of a sports body on allegations of connivance with students in issue of certificates.
The government constituted a committee headed by a retired IAS officer B.V. Papa Rao and then Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of SATS and secretary of youth advancement as members to prepare the guidelines for admissions in the quota. A four-member scrutiny committee prepared the priority list in conformity with a point system in the scale of one to ten in both individual and team events and sent its recommendations to an evaluation committee for approval.
The number of sports disciplines were enhanced from 29 to 48 for the purpose of selection. The highest weightage of 10 points is allotted to gold medalists in individual events of Olympic Games while the lowest of 0.5 points is reserved for bronze medalists in junior and sub-junior categories of team events in national championships. The rules did not envisage any points for mere participation in national championships but it was not clear whether the same will be continued.
