Mysuru: The scrutiny of records of candidates, who had applied for the post of Cooks, Kitchen Assistants and Security Guards in the recruitment drive being carried out by the Backward Classes Welfare Department (BCWD) and Social Welfare Department (SWD) began at Babu Jagjivan Ram Bhavan in Paduvarahalli (Vinayakanagar) here yesterday.

Both the Departments together had invited applications for 58 Cooks, 124 Kitchen Assistants and 42 Security Guards for which over 10,000 applications have been received. The last recruitment of cooks and guards for hostels was held in the year 2001.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) D. Randeep, who inspected the  scrutiny going on in Babu Jagjivan Ram Bhavan, directed the officials to ensure total transparency in the selection of candidates.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that in Mysuru District, more than half of the applicants are either graduates or Post-graduates, with some of the applicants even holding BE or MBA degree. The minimum qualification for all these posts is SSLC.

BCWD Deputy Director G.S. Somashekar Jigani said only about 30 percent of applicants have maximum SSLC qualification which is required for the posts. Most of the applicants are over-qualified and the trend is the same across the State, he added.

SWD Joint Director Prabha said that about 50 percent of the applicants are from North Karnataka region though the recruitment drive is being carried out all over the State simulta-   neously.