Three years, few jobs: Karnataka students hit the streets

Karnataka witnessed a massive student protest on Thursday as thousands gathered in Dharwad to oppose the state government's failure to fill vacancies for the past three years. What began as a social media-driven mobilisation quickly swelled into a large demonstration led by the All Karnataka State Students' Association (AKSSA), with demands for filling pending vacancies and granting age relaxation to aspirants who have crossed the eligibility limit due to the lack of recruitment since the Congress government took office in 2023.

Students also flagged errors in the Kannada translation of the recent Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS) recruitment notification, urging the government to withdraw it and issue a corrected version.

According to government sources, coaching centres may also have played a role in fuelling the agitation.

Dharwad Police Commissioner N. Shashikumar met the protesting students, heard their grievances, and assured them that their memorandum of demands would be forwarded to the authorities.