Government to regularise academic arrangement lecturers with 10 yrs of service

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Government to regularise academic arrangement lecturers with 10 yrs of service

6/13/2018 10:59:43 PM

Akshay Azad
Early Times Report
Jammu, June 13: The state government has reportedly decided to regularize all those employees working on academic arrangement basis in Education as well as Health and Medical Education department with 10 years of experience as per SRO-520 of 2018.
Though the decision is likely to give much awaited relief to the contractual lecturers working in Health and Medical Education as well as School Education and Higher Education department but it is likely to draw wide criticism from hundreds of highly qualified unemployed youth, as the government has also decided to withdraw all the vacancies, if any, forwarded to the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC) for recruitment.
Sources informed Early Times that a meeting headed by Chief Secretary was held in his chamber on 4th of June 2018, in his official chamber at 3 PM regarding the regularization of candidates working on academic arraignments in various departments. The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary to Government Finance Department, Principal Secretary Health and Medical Education department, Commissioner/ Secretary General Administration Department, Secretary School Education department, Secretary Technical Education Youth Services (Additional Charge of Administrative Secretary Higher Education department), Secretary Law Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and Director Colleges.
During the course of the meeting, sources said the Secretary of Higher Education department had stated that 383 candidates were working on academic arrangement in government colleges in the state against clear vacancies for more than 7 years of service and a significant number of candidates have been engaged in the colleges, who are paid remuneration/salary from local funds of the college but such candidates were not working against clear vacancies. "Posts against which the candidates are working on academic arrangement have also been referred to the JKPSC for regular recruitment", sources divulged.
Whereas the Principal Secretary Health and Medical Education had informed the meeting that in Government Medical Colleges, contractual appointments were made on academic arrangement basis which includes retired doctors also in accordance with SRO 384 of 2009, SRO-409 of 2013 and SRO-355 of 2017 as such these contractual appointments are distinct from those working on academic arraignment in other departments.
After long discussions in the meeting, three decisions were reportedly taken according to which those candidates, who have completed 12 years of service on academic arrangement and were working against clear vacancies be consider for regularization in terms of SRO 520 of 2018, dated 21/12/2017.
Other two decisions read as, "The vacancies referred to the Public Service Commission be withdrawn in case the selection process has not been initiated against such posts by the Commission and the cases shall be referred to the Screening Committee constituted in the Finance Department in terms of SRO 520 of 2018 dated 21/12/2017 for scrutinizing the academic qualification and eligibility for regularization in terms of the said SRO".
Additional Secretary to Government GAD, Dr. Bashir Ahmed Lone said said, "I have no comments to offer".
Officials at JKPSC said that so far no such posts have been forwarded by the Higher Education department for advertisements.
Sources in the Higher Education department said that earlier the department had decided to forward the posts of Assistant Professors, but the process was stalled and now in the backdrop of this meeting, there would be no advertisement of posts in near future.
The lecturers engaged on academic arrangement basis in various government degree colleges have welcomed the decision of regularization. They said that they had lost many precious years of their life in serving the department that too on meagre wages and without any facility. "If in all other government departments, the contractual employees could have been regularized why not those working on academic arrangement basis for the last over 7 years", the lecturers said, adding that government must give the salary at par with regular Assistant Professors working in the department.
A Ph.D qualified candidate while criticizing the proposed decision of government said that it would be proved detrimental for the thousands of highly qualified youth.

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