Last Updated: 03 April 2024
21 Oct 2022: For Govt Jobs in Punjab, Govt mandates a qualifying test of Punjabi language with minimum 50% marks equivalent to middle standard
90% applicants failed to secure even 33% marks for the Punjabi language eligibility test in March 2024
- Only those candidates are appointed to the state government’s Group C and D posts who have “in-depth knowledge” of the Punjabi language.
- Aim is to ensure that only those candidates are appointed in the Punjab government who have in-depth knowledge of Punjabi language
- The decision was taken at a meeting of the Punjab Cabinet under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann
- Landmark decision is aimed at further cementing the ethos of Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiat in the state
“The exam conducted by the language department is not that tough. Still, if nearly 90% of applicants have failed, it shows that Punjabi language is not taken seriously" - Sukhdev Singh Sirsa, an eminent Punjabi writer and a former professor at Panjab University
- Clearing it is mandatory for those aspiring for Group C and D posts of the Punjab government if they have not studied Punjabi at matriculation-level
- The exam is conducted 4 times a year: March, June, September, and December
- The exam comprises two papers: grammar and technical, each of 75 marks, out which a candidate is required to secure a minimum of 25 marks to pass
- 69 students had appeared in the examination conducted in March 2024, of which only 7 could pass
- “Majority of the applicants couldn’t write Punjabi properly. There were a lot of spelling mistakes. Therefore, they could not pass the exam,”
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