Unemployment and Proxy Employment in Manipur

Unemployment and Proxy Employment in Manipur

(Reimeingam Marchang)

The general rising of prices of essential goods and services is directly related to the scarcity of available resources also employment and unemployment. In Manipur like in everywhere the number of consumers is growing along with the growth of the choices of goods and services and the purchasing power amidst the worsening employment scenario particularly in the government sector and unemployment problems. The real value of money is rapidly declining due to the disproportionate rise between the commodities prices and individuals’ incomes. In such situation the prevalence of unemployment rate is visibly high particularly in urban areas and among the youth and the educated. The usual principal status (UPS) unemployment rate, according to the NSS, of Manipur is 6.1 percent in 2004-05 which has slightly declined to 5.8 percent in 2007-08 that is higher than the all-India level of 5.3 percent in 2004-05 which has declined to 4.5 percent in 2007-08 in urban areas indicating unemployment problem of Manipur a more severe one. The increasing labour pressure on agricultural land push out to seek employment in non-agricultural sector; however, their possessing skill and knowledge is unsuitable for practical use as a result most of them remain unemployed for a time being. Meanwhile most of them are engaging in the contractual or informal job before moving to a more stable and secure job. Unemployment problem is even harder for the youth and the educated because the aspiration and expectation are higher for them in comparison to the old and uneducated people. The UPS unemployment rates, as per the latest available data, is lower as expected for rural areas at 3.9 percent as compared to a considerably higher level of 19.3 percent in urban areas for the youth (15-29 years); and similarly for the educated person (15 years and above) the rate is lower for rural areas at 6.9 percent when compared to the urban rate of 8.2 percent for Manipur during 2004-05. A significantly higher unemployment rate among the youth in urban than rural areas is due to migration towards urban areas as nature of job they sought are mostly non-agricultural which are concentrated in urban areas. However, the rates for the educated is narrowly demarcated by about 1 percent between rural and urban areas which is largely contributed not simply by rural to urban migration within the state but by migration from rural Manipur to other states; or rural educated people seemingly compromise salary easily or their aspiration and expectation is lower as compared to urban counterparts. Young people are energetic and mostly risk taker so the tendency to migrate towards the areas where jobs might likely be available is also high. Further, in Manipur, the educated people are plenty but the available jobs are limited as a consequence many of them migrated to find a job irrespective of their household income. Among the migrants who got job some of them made remittance; otherwise cater the financial needs of their sibling or relatives staying along with them in a limited sense. Without any further delay the state policy makers should have the wisdom and vision the future capacity of income generation and returns; and should give a sincere effort to formulate policy and plan in order to tap the educated. Wisely every responsible individual should reason together why many educated people who migrated from Manipur towards other areas excel in terms of getting job in comparison to those who do not migrate. It indicates that most of the unemployed out-migrants possesses adequate amount of required skill and knowledge for employability. On other hand, the state policy maker has failed to generate and provide adequate jobs. It clearly shows that the state is not trying to stand with its own effort; but run the economy by depending on the Central government. As a consequence other areas, mostly developed like Bangalore, Mumbai or Delhi for that matter, are playing the role in providing jobs for out-migrants from Manipur. Manipur should swiftly plan and generate jobs for long-run benefit and deliver it immediately for the educated not only for the local people but also for the in-migrants. It will be benefited both for the job hunger educated people and for the healthy economy of the state. Some of the developed countries like the US are trying to solve the problems of the world’s disorder; but many countries or the states including Manipur is even unable to subside the pain of unemployment due to slack factors like inefficient governance, inappropriate plans and policies of the planers and policy makers without common people’s participation, inadequate implementation of affirmative action and so on.

Within the realm of unemployment problem there exists an undesirable system commonly known as “proxy employment” particularly in the education department in Manipur. In this system many of the properly appointed government employees practices an illegal act as a jobber by appointing another person for physical presence in the posting area. This system benefited both the employers and the proxies. These proxies are employed for a time being, accepting the offered salary/wage showing the conditions of desperation for job and scarcity of employment avenues, otherwise are unemployed. Ultimately, the root cause of the system is teacher’s absenteeism. Because some of such teachers hesitate to go to their posting area without abiding government rules (suppose to accept to be posted anywhere), some have other keen self business neglecting student’s future, some doesn’t want to migrant due to family problem such as caring for their own children’s education, some even doesn’t have required knowledge and skill to impart, some physically unsound and being protected within themselves because salary can always be shared, so on and so forth. They always bribe the school inspection team so that no absentee reports are reported. Here a suspicious question is “whether these proxies are far more qualified and well equipped with required knowledge and skill to impart education than the government appointed employees?”. The likelihood to resign from their post is likely to be very high if those who employ a proxy are self conscious that they are literally unfit and not even dedicated. Ironically, many primary school absentee teachers do not employ their proxies even when there is a low teacher-pupil ratio. Interestingly, there exists regulating agencies for check and balance of educational system. Due to the existence of these agencies for each and every absentee teacher there is substitute in the form of proxy. Usually, according to the North Eastern Region Vision 2020, the “substitute teachers do not have the requisite qualifications, so school children are shortchanged by the poor quality of instruction and knowledge”. Some substitutes are more qualified, from reliable information, but just that they cannot get that job because they are unable to “afford” it. The study of World Bank in India found that the government primary schools teacher absenteeism rate is 24.8 (Kremer et al, 2005 in North Eastern Region Vision 2020). The proxy teacher gets roughly thirty percent, as far as reliable information is concern, of the properly appointed employee’s salary or depending upon bargaining power of the proxy.  Furthermore, the evolution of proxy employee is seemingly due to proper government appointed teacher’s absenteeism which is regulated through a pressure largely by a “regulating agency” other than the legal government agency that is also mostly corrupted. This system eases the problem of unemployment among the educated for a short-run. But it does not solve the real problem because during the survey the proxy employee will be recorded as the employed. Hence, these employed, otherwise unemployed, will be excluded and not be benefited when government plans and policies are formulated for them. Thereby enhance the real problem of unemployment in long-run.

Therefore, undesirably, the educated unemployment problem to some extent is solved only for a short-run through the system called as proxy employment which is basically due to the employees’ absenteeism who cares for themselves among mostly incompetent and undedicated but properly appointed government employees.