'Waive off CAT requirement & raise age bar as per Aug 2024 notice for CM fellowship'

Raipur: Student Welfare Association Chhattisgarh has written to the governor, CM and Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Raipur submitting a few suggestions for consideration regarding the eligibility criteria for candidates applying for CM's Good Governance Fellowship.

It has been revived by the Vishnu Deo Sai govt after a stall for five years during the previous govt.

"In the spirit of making this programme more inclusive and impactful, we respectfully submit some suggestions for your consideration regarding the eligibility criteria for the fellowship," said Gaurav Sharma, a members of the association.

The association demanded that the age bar for the fellowship be raised as per the Aug 2024 notification of the state govt which raised the age bar for state candidates in govt jobs, The current age cap may inadvertently limit participation by experienced professionals, they said.

"Given that the Fellowship was not operational during 2022,2023, and 2024, many eligible candidates may not possess a valid CAT score. We therefore request that the CAT requirement be waived for this cycle and suggest the adoption of an alternative assessment as the CAT requirement has been included for the first time and it wasn't mandatory earlier," the association said.

Further, they proposed that applicants with prior work experience in relevant fields such as govt sector, development sector, public policy, rural development, agriculture, renewable energy, education, public health, and climate change be given additional weightage/preference.

Recently, a delegation of the association met with Chhattisgarh Assembly Speaker Dr Raman Singh and finance minister O P Choudhary on the issue. While the Speaker assured to looking into the matter, the finance minister told the delegation that he will talk to the officer concerned on the matter. The initiative was launched by the govt of Chhattisgarh in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Raipur during the tenure of former CM Dr Raman Singh. The programme aims to engage young professionals from the state in governance and policy-making processes, fostering a cadre of skilled individuals dedicated to state's development. As per the current admission structure, a candidate who appeared for the CAT examination in 2022, 2023, or 2024 and meets the minimum required score will be eligible to apply for the Fellowship. Based on the CAT scores, IIM Raipur will then shortlist candidates for the two-year MBA in Public Policy and Governance programme.

The Student Welfare Association questioned the rationale behind limiting eligibility to CAT scores from only the past three years.

"Candidates who appeared for CAT before 2022 and meet the minimum criteria should also be considered eligible to apply for the CM's Fellowship," Sharma said.

"Earlier, a CAT score was not mandatory for selection," he said, adding, "The CAT criterion has been included in the eligibility requirements for the first time this year."