Expedite recruitment process to fill edu dept vacancies: Guv

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, August 17

As many as 2,357 vacancies of sanctioned gazette positions in the Higher Education Department have been referred to the J&K Public Service Commission (JKPSC) between 2014 and 2018, which had conducted selections to fill 1,500 vacancies till August.

This information was given by Sarita Chouhan, Commissioner, Higher Education Department, at a meeting chaired by Governor NN Vohra to review the status of vacancies and the pace of recruitment to the department. She said the selection for 857 vacancies was still pending.

The meeting was attended by Khurshid Ahmad Ganai, Adviser to Governor, and Abdul Latief Deva, chairman, Public Service Commission.

Gazetted posts include that of assistant professors, librarians and physical training instructors in Government Degree Colleges and assistant professors employed in government colleges of engineering and technology and schools of architecture.

To check the delay in the process of selections, the Governor directed the chairman of the JKPSC to draw up a priority list of the order, in which recruitment to various posts would be finalised by the commission, considering the urgency of timely filling of posts for five new medical colleges.

To ensure there is no delay in the Administrative Secretary concerned promptly replying to the queries raised by the JKPSC, all such references will now be settled by an empowered committee chaired by Chief Secretary. Other members in the committee include Administrative Secretaries of the Higher Education Department, Health and Medical Education Department, Agriculture Department, General Administration Department, ARI and Trainings Department and Law Department.

The committee, according to an official spokesman, will examine all cases involving issues regarding the equivalence of degrees, taking into account the general norms of equivalence of degrees that are adopted by premier higher education institutions in the country and national-level education regulatory authorities, and decide all cases within 30 days of the references received from the JKPSC.

The Governor noted that cases had come to his notice where the administrative departments concerned were responsible for considerable delay in informing the JKPSC about the details of vacancies arising in the ensuing calendar year.

Committee formed

• A committee headed by the Chief Secretary has been constituted to settle the cases delayed due to lack of response from Administrative Secretaries
• The Chief Secretary will hold quarterly review meetings with the chairman of the J&K Public Service Commission (JKPSC) to ensure against any pending issue resulting in thwarting the selection process
• The commissioner, Higher Education, will undertake a fortnightly review of vacancies at all levels in the higher education sector