Alphabetical order disturbed to facilitate “pick and choose”
Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, Feb 14: A major controversy has erupted over the latest faculty recruitment notification issued by the University of Jammu, with the Jammu University Teachers’ Association (JUTA) and several faculty members alleging serious irregularities in the application of the reservation roster, violation of UGC recruitment norms, and arbitrary selection of disciplines for advertised posts.
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According to the stakeholders, the university has allegedly misapplied the newly notified reservation roster, which came into force in 2024. As per established service jurisprudence, they said, the roster is applicable only to existing vacancies to be filled after the roster comes into effect and not to vacancies already filled prior to notification of the roaster. Faculty members have questioned the criteria adopted by the university for choosing specific disciplines in which posts have been allocated under the present recruitment drive.
Teachers have further alleged that the alphabetical order of departments in the roster has been disturbed to facilitate a “pick and choose” policy, raising questions about transparency and fairness in allocation of posts across departments.
Another major point of contention pertains to the Skill, Innovation, Incubation and Design Entrepreneurship Centre (SIIDEC). While SIIDEC has been mentioned in the main recruitment notification, a separate notification has also been issued for the Centre.
It is alleged that the reservation roster has not been specifically applied to the 12 vacancies mentioned for SIIDEC. Faculty members have questioned why other departments, which could have been integrated into SIIDEC programmes, were ignored and on what grounds the Centre was granted separate treatment.
Serious objections have also been raised over the eligibility criteria prescribed in the notification. The recruitment advertisement mandates publications only in Scopus/Web of Science (WoS) indexed journals, which, teachers claim, is in violation of UGC Regulations.
As per UGC norms, publications in peer-reviewed journals, UGC-CARE listed journals, and indexed journals such as Scopus/WoS are recognised. Teachers have pointed out that even Central universities like Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Delhi University (DU) do not mandate Scopus-only publications. They further claimed that nearly 80 per cent of the existing Professors, Associate Professors and Assistant Professors in the university do not have Scopus publications, making the condition discriminatory and exclusionary.
The procedure adopted by the university in finalising the roster has also come under fire. On January 28, 2026 the university issued a tentative roster notification inviting objections within 10 days. However, teachers allege that without considering objections and without waiting for the stipulated period, the university issued the final notification the very next day.
JUTA President had submitted written dissent on the roster both before and after the issuance of the final notification, but the concerns were allegedly ignored.
Further, faculty members have alleged violation of reservation rules by allowing non-domiciles of Jammu and Kashmir to apply under reserved categories. As per established practice and rules in all the States and Union Territories, reservation benefits are meant for domiciles only. Allowing non-domiciles to apply under reserved categories, they contend, undermines the rights of local candidates and violates reservation policy.
JUTA has demanded immediate withdrawal of the recruitment notification and a thorough review of the roster and eligibility criteria in line with UGC regulations and reservation rules applicable in the Union Territory. The university teachers association has also sought transparency in discipline-wise allocation of posts and approval of competent statutory bodies before initiating the recruitment.
When contacted, JU authorities claimed that there was no violation of any rule in implementation of the roster and issuance of recruitment notification. In case representation is received over any doubt, genuine concern would be looked into, added the university spokesperson.
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