THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Vindicating a declining trend in those seeking jobs abroad, the number of emigration clearances granted by the Protectors of Emigrants (PoE) across the country has come down by nearly half. The two PoE offices in Kerala are at bottom of the tally. According to data available from the External Affairs department, Thiruvananthapuram, the Protector of Emigrants has granted the lowest number of emigration clearances till November this year — 8,454, compared to 18,772 during 2015 — a decline of more than 50 per cent.
The PoE office in Kochi, which is in the seventh position among the 10 PoEs across the nation, had granted only 16,046 clearances till November this year. Last year, the Kochi PoE granted 24,081 emigration clearances. The total emigration clearances granted by the 10 PoE offices across the country during 2015 was 7.82 lakh. However, till November this year, it has only reached 4.90 lakh — a decline of nearly 40 percent.
Emigration clearance is required mainly for nurses as well as those who have not passed Class X examination for taking up employment in 18 countries, mainly the Gulf. The PoE office in Mumbai is topping the tally by granting 2.19 lakh emigration clearances till November this year. However, it is still very low when compared to 3.51 lakh clearances granted in 2015. After Mumbai, Delhi has granted the highest number of clearances this year — 95,548. It was 1.85 lakh last year.
Sources in the emigration sector of the state said that the declining trend vindicates the declining job opportunities in Gulf countries as well as failure of the state government agencies in tapping the job opportunities for nurses. “NORKA-Roots and Overseas Development and Employment Promotion Council are among the few government agencies authorised to take up nursing recruitments and both these are under the Thiruvananthapuram PoE. Had they been able to tap the job opportunities through effective interventions, it would have reflected positively on the number of emigration clearances granted through Thiruvanantapuram PoE," said an official in the sector.
