Mumbai, April 17: Among aspirants for the post of police constables in Mumbai and Gujarat, include doctors, engineers, MBA graduates and other professional degree holders.

Out of the 2 lakh-odd candidates who have applied for the 1,137 posts of police constables in Mumbai, at least 3 are doctors, 5 lawyers, 167 MBAs and 423 engineers.

The minimum educational criteria earmarked by the Mumbai Police is Class 12th pass. However, the snaking queues at Hutatma Maidan in Naigaon, where the candidates are undergoing physical tests, feature a slew of over-qualified aspirants.

Similar situation prevails in Gujarat, where at least 1,000-odd candidates among the 17,532 Lok Rakshak Dal (LRD) jawans selected are found to be way over-qualified in terms of education.

Among the 1,000 selected, 458 are BCA degree holders, 341 B-Techs, 19 have completed BSC(IT), two among them are MTech degree holders, whereas, 25 others have graduated in miscellaneous streams. Meanwhile, the required educational qualification for the post was Class 12th.

Considering the statistics, experts claim a growing section of the country's young population is getting disenchanted with the private sector. "The government believes the market will fix all issues, including unemployment. But in all parts of the country, the message is clear - the youths want to work in the public sector rather than the private," said Mumbai-based sociologist Mithun Pillai.

According to Gaurang Jani, an associate professor of sociology in the Gujarat university, the lack of opportunities in the private sector is turning limited, which is in turn exerting pressure on the government to create employment. The lack of job security is another major reason why educated youths have set their eyes on the public sector, he said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 17, 2018 07:26 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).