THE SIGNIFICANCE OF COMPETENCY EXAMINATION

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF COMPETENCY EXAMINATION
The examination of mining competency examination conducted by DGMS is a hallmark in the career path of mining executives. This examination has created many inter and intra disciplinary anomalies. This examination has also disrupted uniformity of not only education system, but also polluted drastically the cordial feeling of organizational-behavior.

We are still following the Britishers system till date. Many times' reformatory revolution has been bubbled up by in the past ( 1968 to 1971 ) by mining graduates, but at every time it has been suppressed surreptitiously. So the condition of the industry is completely down, because it has never put an outlook of equal eye regarding development of their front managers.
The historical perspective of statutorily institution of manager competency certificate was made under first Mines Act, which was enacted on 22 march 1901 after occurrence of two major disaster at Kolar Gold Field in 1897 and at Khost Coal mine ,Baluchistan (British India ) in 1898 .During pre-independence period there was not a single mining institution /College to give standard education about mining technology .So there was an acute shortage of mining engineers.Only the ENGLISHMEN resumed the duties of administrative Posts. tHE Englishmen SOME CERTIFIED INDIAN PERSONS to work in hazardeous underground mines and give them direct benefit following the norms specified by international labour organization .To cope this requirement they started to issue manager competency examination simply a literate person on acquiring some practical experience .

This was the main reason how the concept of manager competency certificate was felt as a minimum requirement to impart safety -attitude .Now a century had been elasped and a drastic change in education pattern and system have also taken place . Recent scientific and technological advancement have changed the whole life style .Morever ,in this present context ,there are sufficient engineering and diploma college private institutions to educate young mining engineers .Then there is no need of conducting such examination which are still framed to follow old norms of gas testing by safety -lamp .Now-a-days ,I seems rather a ridicolus these examinations still requires minimum eligibity criteria as simply a literate person who knows only to sign his name .In the computer -era one can get every bit of information of the world in a small -room in a fraction of second .Management Information System and Teleconferencing System are the major tools of the modern -management .History again reveals that less educated persons also turned as a chairman of the coal industry under the facade of practical experience.

The anamoly in career growth in mining discipline is not a new topic , but it is a century -old subject. these anamoly appeared publicly since a last decade due to some selfish elements strived for the benefit of their beloved and warmed their own hands underneath their pockets.Ex- DGMS capt. B>N> Singh was caught red handed taking bribes for promulagating big irreguralities in these competency examination . This was main reason behind postponement of examinations ffor a period of five years from 1995 to 2000 . This was again a fatal blow on the future of the degree -holders who wer appointed in 1993 and onwards because they could not get any chance to appear in the examination . They never pondered positively to run the perpetual –mechanism of the company in a long run. Their ocular vision had vehemently broken the system of survival except the deep agony and frustration left foor their own youngersters !
The competent authority , on other hand , used the merit part of examination as a personal tool of getting undue advantage.The promotion -policy made by company was so flexible , whenever they decide they distribute the promotions very freely taking the criteria of this examination . Ultimately the system has completely failed to stick with uniform policy of career development of mining –cadre. Frequently, competent authority has changed their own norms and suggested to remove anamoly among intra discipline. But at every time the implementation of their suggestion again created very complex situation and raised “DISASTROUS ANAMOLIES”. The same examination conducted under MINES ACT, 1956 in other public sector organization e.g. HINDUSTAN ZINC LIMITED, HINDUSTAN COPPER LIMITED, NALCO ETC there is not a single provision / criteria to provide any “jump” in higher echelon of their cadre. This examination is nothing but a very much powerful stirrer to create a lot of intolerable enforced anamolies.Now ,Are you ready to introspect yourselves and search the answers within your - spirit as given below ? I f you were the justice to rectify these anamolies ,what will be your bold - steps in this regards putting your one hand on your heart and other hand on your head ? Kindly give your justified reply to us .

Layman to consider a the following facts
§ Is the status of the examination is so and turn high that one can get jump from E2 TO E4?
§ Is the examination adequate to forward one career UPTO E5 within a very short span of their career, say 6to9 years, although three years practical experience is also required to appear in the said examination.
§ Is the examination has its own creditworthiness which created a lot of anamoly and destroyed the career of many young mining engineers?
§ Is this examination is so much practical that can be given more weight age than other professional examination like ICWA, MBA, MD,Ph.d etc ?
§ Is this examination is a " MAGIC ROD OR MIDAS TOUCH " that can convert all iron particle into gold –ornaments?
§ Is this examination not converging a broader -outlook through a very thin slit of narrowness?
§ Does any examining -authority propose to adopt this step -behavior of anamolus promotion?
§ Is it a right step to interlink this examination with promotion -policy of any mining -industry ?
§ It is a universal fact that the national and international repute examination are also not justified for jump over promotion -ladder, then what is the criteria to consider this competency very much enough to provide heaven to somebody and hell to other , Where as this is a departmental examination limited to mining community only comprised of field candidates, diploma and degree holders

UPSC conducts countrywide competition under the aegis of central government such as IAS ,IPS ,IFS etc for delivering different services of district -administration ,Foreign ,Forest Police and the other allied services every year .The minimum eligibity criteria for appearing in these all examinations require a graduate in any discipline with first class marks . State public service commission also applies the same procedure. Even minimum graduation qualification is also a necessary condition for teachers, although they are not responsible any statutory responsibility. Then it seems very ridiculous that highly responsible services of mining industry do not require any minimum academic qualification till today . How will the significance of this examination be realized fruitfully in management pyramid penetrating through each hierarchy from higher to lower level?

It is the philosophical truth that, engineering colleges and schools are the educational laboratories that provide psychogical and practical experimentation in-group - dynamics and an atmosphere of how to think in engineering way. This examination pattern and styles have broken this classical attitude and have not left any stone unturned to dust the glory of IIT College and other reputed universities. The approach of this examination is to make an amalgamation of approved inequalities, where the education system of INDIA has already differentiated broadly among degree, diploma and field- candidates. An average secondary class student can easily get admission in Diploma College, but an engineering graduate has to cross the barricade of cut -throat competition to get admission after 10+2.Moreover, they have to work very hard to cover very thick syllabus approved by government. Where as a field -candidate is purely free-lancer?

The success in this examination randomly imbalances the whole sentimental -status and career -scenario, irrespective of their background qualification. The word competency always produces ambiguous meaning. Exactly, this competency examination is nothing but basically a sequential repeatation of very old syllabus starting from mining sirdar, overman and finally second class manager competency examination mainly extracted from UNIVERSAL MININNG SCHOOL NOTES.

Then it become very much easy for diploma and field -candidates to pass this examination. Very profound educationists, academicians have also differentiated and bench-marked the pattern of education, then this competency examination claim to equalize all inputs .The ambiguity of competency darkened the bright future of dynamic managers and made them mentally handicapped. To pass the examination needs nothing, but a rigorous revision i.e." parroting” of coal mines regulation, Mines- acts, Mines-rule and other small statutory booklets .The diploma holders, free-lancers, and job -bluffers/ cheaters have always taken the advantage of high frequency of revision of the subjects. Hence the success rate of these persons is an alarming. The engineered, analytical and qualitative brain of degree -holders fail to adopt the memory - mapping, hence they loose their career. How do mining -graduate s lose their careeranamolus promotion -policy based on this competency examination? It has been tried to elaborate these anamolies into three different - categories .
ENTRY: The entry of mining personnel has been categorised as below:
SL QUALIFICATION PROMOTION UPTO
1. LITERATE

MINING-SIRDAR M1 ,M2

OVERMAN
UNDERMANAGER

2.
DIPLOMA
OVERMAN
UNDERMANAGER M1,M2

3.
DEGREE
1.MANAGEMENT
TRAINEE
2.JME
3.UNDERMANAGER

The literate person can rise upto higher level management. Their steps are very simple just by passing gas testing examination,sirdar examination,overmanship examination then second and at last first class examination .These all examination are practical based and continuous mugging –up of the same syallabus. Since non-executives Have more practical experience and less responsibility of supervison And decision –making make them to speed –up their career.