MBA, BTech among newly inducted ITBP constables

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 14

Manning the Himalayan frontier requires foot soldiers to possess physical and psychological prowess rather than management or engineering skills, but the batch of Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) constables that passed out today included a recruit holding a master of business administration degree and another possessing a bachelor of technology.

Besides three other recruits held master of commerce degrees, six held master of arts and one held a master of science degree in addition to several others holding polytechnic diplomas and other technical qualifications. The minimum educational qualification for the recruitment of a constable is matriculation.

As many as 517 general duty constables were formally inducted into the ITBP at the force’s Basic Training Centre (BTC) at Bhanu near here. Only about 25 per cent of them were matriculates while the remaining possessed higher educational qualifications. The ITBP is responsible for guarding the border with China.

“This is reflective of the state of affairs in the society. It shows that either adequate jobs are not available for the qualified or the said qualifications do not measure up to the required standards,” Inspector General North-Western Frontier, Arvind Kumar, who was the POP’s reviewing officer, told media persons on the function’s sidelines. “Moreover, consequent to the Sixth Pay Commission, government jobs are back in the reckoning as the remuneration and facilities have become favourable as compared to many other sectors,” he added.

Deputy Inspector General, BTC, PS Papta, said an analysis of the recruits’ performance over the years had revealed that there had been consistence improvement in the training standards and fitness levels of the troops. He added that to sharpen the recruits’ personality, a DIG Banner was introduced for which professional as well as personality building competitions were organised.

While exhorting the newly inducted constables to strive for professional excellence and accept all challenges with full confidence, Arvind Kumar also gave away prizes for outstanding performance during the 44-week training course.