Excelsior Correspondent
KISHTWAR, Oct 20: The Kishtwar district unit of the All J&K +2 Lecturers’ Forum held a press conference today at the TRC, highlighting three pressing concerns and calling on Education Minister Sakina Itoo to take prompt action.
Speaking at the event, Pardeep Koul, president of the district unit, shared the ongoing challenges faced by in-charge lecturers. Despite the department’s promise to regularize these lecturers within six months of their promotion orders, many have remained in limbo for years. Koul stressed that numerous in-charge lecturers have either retired or passed away without being regularized, leaving them and their families in distress due to the prolonged bureaucratic processes.
Koul criticized the Education Department’s bureaucratic inefficiencies under the LG administration, accusing officials of deliberately delaying justice. He pointed to the repeated demands for documents such as APRs, character certificates, and vigilance clearances as time-wasting tactics that exacerbated the lecturers mental strain. However, he praised former Administrative Secretary Piyush Singla for his sincere efforts to regularize in-charge lecturers, noting that Singla’s departure for study leave interrupted progress. Koul further mentioned that just as the process was gaining momentum, the Model Code of Conduct became an additional obstacle.
Highlighting Minister Sakina Itoo’s reputation for being responsive and employee-friendly, Koul urged her to prioritize the regularization of in-charge lecturers and address other systemic issues. He also advocated for the grant of ACP (Assured Career Progression) to +2 officers, citing the lack of time-bound promotions and running grades, which are provided to non-gazetted employees and IAS/JKAS officers, respectively.
Additionally, Koul expressed concern over the numerous vacant Principal positions in Higher Secondary Schools and urged the Minister to fill these vacancies by promoting senior lecturers.
The press conference was also attended by prominent Forum members, including Qazi Masood Hussain, Khaliq Zargar, Jagdish Chauhan, Amarjeet Kotwal and others.
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