Despite matric being minimum qualification, graduates & postgraduates also appear for test

Aspirants take a physical fitness test at the Army recruitment rally in Ludhiana on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Himanshu Mahajan

Nikhil Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, February 22

The minimum qualification for joining the Army in the ongoing recruitment drive for 14 vacancies in the 152 Infantry Battalion (Territorial Army) Sikh is Class X only, but graduates and post-graduates are also appearing for the recruitment.It is the penchant for wearing olive green, according to some of them, which is dragging them to the venue near Jagraon Bridge.As many as 6,400 youth have appeared in the recruitment rally so far and many of them are graduates and post-graduates from various streams. Some termed unemployment as reason behind joining the Army, but many categorically said the craze and penchant to wear olive green was the main cause.Rohit Sooden, who has a BSc degree from Himachal Pradesh, said: “I had a dream to wear olive green since my childhood. No one from my family is in the Army, but my father has always motivated me to join the Army. I came all the way from Himachal. I hope my hard work and passion will yield results.”Another candidate Sunny Sharma, who came from Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir, is a post-graduate in Hindi, has completed BEd and is now pursuing MEd, said, he wanted to join the Army to serve the country and countrymen. “Presently, I am teaching at a private school, but my ultimate target is to join the Army. Even if I don’t get through this time, I will continue to try my luck in future,” he said.Manish Kumar from HP, who has done BCA, said he could not find a suitable job despite completing his graduation, adding that now he was trying for the Army. “My foremost reason to join the Army is to serve the country. This employment will also give me bread for my entire life. Apart from a good salary, the Army offers many other facilities as well so this is obviously a great choice,” he said.

Highlights

• Only 578 of total 6,400 candidates have cleared the physical test so far
• The pass percentage stands at 9% only
• A total of 3,000 candidates from Punjab appeared, of which 325 cleared the physical test
• From J&K and Himachal Pradesh, 900 appeared, of which 99 cleared the physical test
• From Haryana and Delhi, 2,500 appeared and only 154 passed the physical round