Petition to the Kerala Public Service Commission (KPSC)

Seeking Revision of Eligibility Criteria and Syllabus
Category No. 637/2025 – Superintendent Welfare Institution Grade I (Special Recruitment – SC/ST)

To
The Hon'ble Chairman,
Kerala Public Service Commission

To
The Secretary,
Kerala Public Service Commission

Subject: Request to revise the qualification criteria and examination syllabus for Category No. 637/2025 – Superintendent Welfare Institution Grade I (Social Justice Department).

Respected Sir,
We, the undersigned candidates, social work professionals, educators, and concerned citizens, respectfully submit this petition seeking the intervention of the Kerala Public Service Commission regarding the notification and syllabus issued for Category No. 637/2025 – Superintendent Welfare Institution Grade I in the Social Justice Department.

The post carries a prestigious pay scale of ₹50,200 – ₹1,05,300 and involves professional responsibilities in the administration of welfare institutions under the Social Justice Department.

However, we wish to draw your kind attention to two important concerns.

1. Request to Revise Educational Qualification

The present notification also permits:
 "Degree in any discipline as an eligible qualification. "

We respectfully submit that this provision may dilute the professional standards expected for a supervisory welfare administration post.
A Masters / Bachelor's Degree in Social Work (BSW / MSW ) or a Degree in Sociology/Social Science /  Diploma in Social Work provides comprehensive academic and field-based professional training that cannot be equated with a  unrelated degree.

Considering the nature of duties entrusted to the Superintendent Welfare Institution Grade I, we request that the qualification be revised to:

Degree in Social Work (BSW)
Degree in Sociology
Degree in Social Science

and remove the eligibility of "Degree in any discipline."

This would strengthen professional standards and ensure that welfare institutions are led by candidates possessing comprehensive academic preparation.

2. Professional Subjects Have Been Given Inadequate Weightage

The prescribed educational qualification itself recognizes Social Work, Sociology and Social Science as the core academic disciplines for this post.

Despite this, the newly published syllabus allocates only:

Social Work – 15 Marks
Sociology – 15 Marks

Total Professional Subjects = 30 Marks (30%)
The remaining 70 Marks are allotted to:

History – 25 Marks
Political Science – 20 Marks
Geography – 15 Marks
Economics – 10 Marks

For a professional welfare administration post, this distribution does not adequately evaluate the candidates' knowledge and competency in the disciplines directly related to the job.

3. Contrary to the Kerala PSC's Own Policy

The Kerala Public Service Commission, through its Press Release dated 29.05.2019, announced that for posts having Professional/Technical qualifications, General Knowledge questions would be excluded and only subject-related questions would be included in the examination from August 2019 onwards.

The present syllabus appears inconsistent with this policy, as nearly 70% of the examination consists of general academic subjects, while only 30% evaluates professional competence.

4. Need for Higher Weightage to Professional Knowledge

The Superintendent Welfare Institution Grade I is a professional welfare administration post involving:

Social Welfare Administration
Institutional Management
Rehabilitation
Child Protection
Women Welfare
SC/ST Welfare
Disability Services
Geriatric Care
Community Development
Case Management
Social Justice Programmes

These responsibilities require specialized knowledge acquired through professional education in Social Work and Sociology, rather than general academic knowledge alone.

We therefore request that:

The examination should allocate at least 50% of the total marks to:

Social Work
Sociology
Social Welfare Administration
Human Behaviour
Community Practice
Social Policy
Social Justice
Research Methods
Welfare Legislation

This will ensure merit-based selection of professionally competent candidates.

• Our Requests

We respectfully request the Kerala Public Service Commission to:

• Review the syllabus for Category No. 637/2025.
• Increase the weightage of Social Work and Sociology to at least 50% of the examination.
• Align the syllabus with the Commission's 2019 policy regarding professional and technical examinations.
• Review and revise the eligibility criteria by removing "Degree in any discipline " and restricting eligibility to candidates possessing relevant professional degrees.
  

Publish a revised syllabus and notification before the conduct of the examination.

Conclusion

" The Social Justice Department deserves professionally competent officers with strong academic grounding in welfare administration and social sciences. Ensuring adequate weightage to professional subjects and maintaining rigorous educational standards will strengthen public service delivery and uphold the objectives of the Department. "

We therefore request the Hon'ble Chairman and the Secretary of the Kerala Public Service Commission to kindly consider this representation sympathetically and take necessary corrective action in the larger public interest.Yours faithfully,

Concerned Candidates,
Professional Social Workers,
Academicians,Social Work Students,
and Well-wishers of Professional Social Work

26.07.26