CSI employment exchange a boon for Protestants

Tirunelveli – A mini employment exchange run and managed by the Church of South India (CSI) diocese in Tirunelveli for Protestants is seeking to alleviate the employment problem in India.

However, the employment, given on the first come first served basis, is meant to benefit mostly teachers for higher secondary, secondary, special schools and teacher training institutes.

According to Daniel Sigamoni Simeon, Manager of the Exchange, any Protestant “who has finished his graduation or postgraduation degree or teacher training course can register his or her name with the diocese.” But only those who have paid money for four years in the association of the church only are eligible for registration, he added.

The exchange maintains a separate list of names for each degree. The order of names in the register is maintained according to the date a person has entered his name with the diocese.

The employment exchange does not give a guarantee to anyone that he will be employed immediately. It may even take ten years for a person to get a job. The delay is because of the backlog of those waiting for appointment for long time, explained Simeon.

Rs. 10,000 is collected as a donation from the person who wishes to be enlisted in the exchange. Of that amount, Rs. 1,000 is for the manager’s office and the rest is passed as donations for charitable institutions. Once the person gets employed, his first month salary is collected for the benefit fund. And, when he leaves the institution, he could draw the amount from the benefit fund with interest, Simeon added.

Those whose names are in the registered list have to come to the diocese annually for renewal. If anyone has found employment, his name would be deleted from the list.

The exchange, which also maintains a list of persons who have obtained additional qualification after appointment, also tries to assist non–Christian teachers who are highly qualified and give preference to widows.

Though the Government pays the salaries of the staff, the appointment of teachers is made by the diocese. Within the limited opportunities, the CSI diocese is providing this service for the Protestants, Simeon concluded.