Army to recruit 3,464 personnel

KATHMANDU, Aug 2: Nepal Army has decided to fill 3,464 vacant positions after the Supreme Court gave NA a go ahead last Wednesday.

The apex court quashed a writ petition relating to the recruitment controversy four days ago saying that the matter does not fall under its jurisdiction.

NA will recruit 250 officer cadets and 3,214 other ranks, including recruits. Among the 3,214 vacancies, 2,650 will be for recruits and 564 will be others.

The recruitment process will begin Monday with a public notice.

"The recruitment will give continuity to Nepal Army´s peace-time engagement activities," Spokesperson of NA, Brigadier General Ramindra Chhetri, told myrepublica.com on Sunday after a meeting held at NA headquarters to decide about the number of recruits.

Chhetri further said, "The recruitment will help in effective implementation of national development work bestowed on NA like responsibilities of construction works, nature conservation, VIP and VVIP security, security installations, disaster management and others."

Given the "shortage" of arms and ammunition in possession of the NA, the recruitment number was kept at minimum.
-- NA source
Stating that many young people who were interested to join the NA and serve the country were deprived of the opportunity for two years, Chhetri said, "Those deprived of joining the Army now have a new opportunity."

NA recruited 2,884 personnel in February 2009 and also recruited personnel twice before during late former prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala´s tenure.

The recruitment number has been determined on the basis of the capacity of training centers, the ratio of instructors available to carry out the trainings, the training equipment, duration of the courses and NA´s requirement.

"The number has been determined as per our priority and capacity," a highly-placed NA source told myrepublica.com.

The source also said that given the "shortage" of arms and ammunition in possession of the NA, the recruitment number was kept at minimum.

The trainings will be imparted for 18 months for officer cadets and nine months for other ranks. The officer course is held at Kharipati training center and other trainings are carried out at various recruits training centers in all five development zones.

The professional army training is divided into educational and military categories and are imparted in packages. After the completion of the basic course, the personnel are offered specialization training and career development training.

Career development training is of three types in NA -- basic, mid and high levels. The mid-level training is imparted at Staff College whereas high-level trainings are conducted at the War College and National Defense College.

The technical basics are, however, different in nature where minimum military training is given to technical recruits.

Referring to the recruitment procedure, an NA source said, "This is not a one-time process," adding, "Thus a long-term planning is involved in training the recruits."

After the first recruitment advertisement, one month time-limit is given after which a seven-day extension is granted. The recruitment then begins in groups.

Source: http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=21731