DTE urged to prepare list of firms offering DCA

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The educational institutions which will be recognised by the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) for the Diploma in Computer Application (DCA) course, which is mandatory for the next Secretariat Assistants’ examination, will be decided by the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE).The recruitment for the most sought after government job of the graduates in the state, Secretariat Assistant, had run into trouble with computer institutions announcing that their courses are approved by the PSC.The government in consultation with the PSC decided to include DCA as  the basic qualification for the forthcoming graduate-level exam - Secretariat Assistant (Assistant in Government Secretariat/Kerala Public Service Commission/Local Fund Audit Department).PSC chairman K S Radhakrishnan said that instances of educational institutions announcing that their courses were approved by the PSC came to the notice of the Commission. As PSC has no technical knowhow on finding the recognised institutions it has been decided to approve the courses recognised by the DTE."A request has been made to the DTE to publish a list of the institutions, which are conducting the DCA course approved by them. The syllabus and duration of the course will be determined by the DTE,’’ he said.Director of Technical Education J Letha said that a committee had been constituted to identify the institutions conducting DCA courses according to DTE norms. The syllabus of each institution and duration of the course will be cross-checked before finalising the list, she said.There are also plans to publish the list of the institutions to avoid confusion among the candidates. She also said that some government agencies which were conducting the course were yet to get DTE approval.As the process is time-consuming, Radhakrishnan said that the documents of educational qualifications could be submitted only at the time of verification. The candidates will have the time to complete the course, he added.Regarded as a prestigious post in the state civil service, Secretariat Assistant is the dream job among many aspirants. The PSC last conducted the Secretariat Assistant exam in 2007 and the next notification is likely to be announced by December this year.Secretariat Assistant is a very attractive post as the candidates have great scope for promotion and they can reach up to the level of government additional secretary.