Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, Jan 29: Total adhocism prevailed in Higher Education Department as the Government has failed to fill up over 1600 vacant posts of Assistant Professors in degree colleges of the State.
With its failure to fill up over 1600 vacant posts of Assistant Professors in Government degree colleges of State, the Higher Education Department is being run on support system. This has not only impaired the career of the students but also the lecturers who have been appointed on these posts on the basis of academic arrangements for years together.
According to reliable sources, the Higher Education Department had last year written the State Public Service Commission (PSC) for filling up of the vacant posts of the Assistant Professors in the department and accordingly a notification was issued by the PSC in this regard.
However, the department had debarred the M Phil candidates from applying for the posts of lecturers which was against the Government SRO under which a candidate with M Phil Degree is eligible to apply for the Post of Assistant Professor in Higher Education Department.
On the basis of the letter from Higher Education Department the PSC issued notification for filling up of vacant posts of lecturers in Higher Education Department barring the candidates with M Phil Degree for applying for the same.
However, this notification was challenged by the M Phil Degree holders in the Court of law. The High Court in its verdict upheld the contention of petitioners and gave directives to the PSC to consider them for appointment on the basis of M Phil Degree.
On the basis of Court order the PSC sought views from Higher Education Department again for issuing the fresh notification. The Higher Education Department however wrote a conditional letter to PSC regarding issuance of fresh notification.
As the reply from the Higher Education Department was conditional the PSC did not go ahead with the issuance of fresh notification saying that it would create a problem for them as well as candidates.
When contacted Secretary PSC, Dr T S Ashok said “we had send a letter to the Higher Education Department seeking a clarification as its previous letter was not clear and once the clarification is received the PSC will issue the notification for the same”.
He said that the Government in its earlier notification has said that the M Phil candidates are not eligible while the High Court in its verdict said that Government can’t be above SRO.
However Director Higher Education Mr Kawusa said the posts have been referred to PSC and the recruitment of Assistant Professors is under process. The Department is on the job and it is expected that the posts are filled up as early as possible.
Sources said the constant delay in filling up the vacant posts of Assistant Professors in various streams in Government degree colleges has led to prevailence of total adhocism in the Higher Education Department as the Department is run on crutches.
Sources said hundreds of candidates have been appointed on the basis of academic arrangements in the Department for over one and a half decade who are paid a paltry sum of Rs 8000 to Rs 12000 which is not justified by any means.
Sources said some of the candidates are working on these posts since 1998 and have even become overage but the Government has not considered them for regularization despite having requisite qualification and eligibility for the post of assistant professor.
The constant dilly dallying tactics adopted by the authorities in Higher Education have made the future of 1800 candidates bleak who are working in the department on the basis of academic arrangements for years together. After giving their prime age to the Department these candidates are in a total desperation as some of them have already become overage and can’t apply for any other Government post.
However after the constant struggle by Adhoc Teachers Association the Government enhanced their salaries from Rs 8000 to Rs 10,000 for teaching assistants and from Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000 for lecturers recently.
This is still far less than the remuneration given to adhoc lecturers by the other universities of the country. The Kurukshetra University pays Rs 21,600 as remuneration to contractual Assistant Professors.
Even UGC has also recommended the hike in remuneration in contractual lecturers after the 6th Pay Commission report, but the lecturers engaged in J&K on basis of academic arrangements have been deprived of the same.
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