ICDS Supervisor: High Court directs PSC to exclude candidates with degrees from 29% quota reserved for Anganwadi workers

KOCHI: The High Court has directed the Public Service Commission (PSC) to exclude candidates with degrees from the 29% quota reserved for Anganwadi workers with an SSLC qualification and 10 years of work experience for the post of Supervisor under ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services). The division bench comprising Justice A Muhamed Mustaque and Justice P Krishnakumar observed that the 29% quota was introduced to benefit Anganwadi workers with work experience but without degrees and that including candidates with higher qualifications in the quota would defeat this purpose.

The high court issued the order after considering a batch of petitions challenging the earlier order of the Kerala Administrative Tribunal. The division bench quashed the order issued by the tribunal on April 1.

On December 11, 2019, the PSC invited applications for the 29% quota reserved for those with an SSLC qualification and 10 years of work experience. The petitioners approached the Kerala Administrative Tribunal, requesting that candidates with degrees be excluded from the rank list. However, the three-member bench of the Tribunal dismissed the petition. Subsequently, the petitioners approached the High Court.