DoTE to conduct typewriting and shorthand exams

The exams, which were steadily making a comeback because of the opportunities given by BPOs and private firms, could not be conducted by the DoTE in August, which had affected about three lakh students.

It was mainly due to the closure of over 3,500 commerce institutes in the State during the lockdown. Both the exams were conducted every year at the junior and senior levels.

A senior official from the DoTE told DT Next on Tuesday that the State government had tried to conduct technical exams such as typewriting and shorthand in January. “However, it was felt that the students would not have practised the skills since the institutions were opened only in November and little over two months would not be enough for them to appear for the exams,” he added.

Stating that the government is planning to conduct technical exams in April, the official said the institutes were asked to take applications from students by the last week of March 2020. “All the applications will be submitted to DoTE before April,” he said, adding “the exact date of examination will be announced next week.”

Tamil Nadu Typewriting Computer Institutes Association (TNTCIA) president L Senthil said there usually would be about 1.5 lakh applications for typewriting exams and about 50,000 for shorthand. This year, it is expected that the enrollment would cross three lakh,” he said.

Stating that there are thousands of vacancies in the State services, especially in the Personnel Administration Department, he said students would get extra marks in Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) Group IV exams if they pass junior level typing exams.

SR Sivasubramaniam, president of Stenographer’s Guild, said most of the private firms have made it mandatory for personal assistants to learn shorthand and so the enrollment for the exam would be more than 50,000.

According to him, from 2008 to 2013, the number of students appearing for typewriting exams has increased by over 20 per cent. “It rose to 50 per cent since 2014 and in 2019, about 2 lakh students had enrolled,” he said.