Mysore/Mysuru: Students of Maharaja’s Degree and PU College, pursuing Criminology and Forensic Science courses, staged a protest in city this morning demanding that priority be given for candidates with a background in Criminology and Forensic Science subjects to get employed in the Police Department, State and Central Forensic Labs, Prisons and other related Departments.

Claiming that Criminology students are facing large-scale unemployment as they lacked suitable job opportunities, the protesters demanded reservation of jobs. Criminology students were given priority in Police recruitments in Kerala and other States but not in Karnataka, they claimed. 

Shouting slogans and holding placards, over 50 students marched from their institution                                                     to the DC Office, the students decried the injustice meted out to them. “We are qualified in both theory and practical but we are denied jobs in the Police and other investigative wings. Lesser qualified people and people who have no expertise in forensics are being appointed for Criminology and Forensic Science Departments and money is wasted on training them while we are being ignored,” they said. 

The protesting students demanded that Criminology be made an optional subject in the competitive examinations conducted by the Centre and States. The protestors urged the University Grants Commission to take steps to launch a Department of Criminology in at least one University in every State.

The job prospect for graduates in Criminology and related courses in India is very less. Such candidates are skilled and efficient to do jobs in the Police Department and other related agencies, they said. The protesting students submitted a memorandum to the DC Office Shirastedar.