The trend to pursue a non -transparent policy and going beyond due stipulations and guidelines in recruitments and postings usually found in various institutions and departments in Jammu and Kashmir appears to be a matter of mind set if not due to reasons extraneous to the entire process. It is mandatory to advertise posts through recognised channels of communication and the subsequent exercise of recruitment must necessarily be subservient to set norms, procedures, reservation guidelines as also other administrative instructions without any exception.
Central University of Jammu is governed by the Central Universities Act and recruitment process is governed by the rules and guidelines set by the University Grants Commission and Ministry of Human Resources Development and prudence as well as discretion warrant total adherence to such limitations. However, since a few teaching posts that of Associate and Assistant Professors are required to be filled up, allegations of violating reservation roster for the said purpose have been made based on cogent instances. In other words, posts between reservation and non- reservation categories are alleged to have been swapped for reasons better known to the administrative wing of the University as also the Vice Chancellor. This departure from the procedures clearly land at the gates of violation of rules. Status of the Roster in respect of vacant posts in terms of reservation in various disciplines has been reportedly manipulated to the detriment of the interests of the eligible candidates.
Since interviews for the said vacant posts are going to be held from next week , the time , therefore, being not much , fears that roster reservation might be disturbed need to be allayed . When at the time of advertising the posts , the status of SC/ST/OBC etc was not strictly adhered to as swapping between the posts in respect of category of reservation mentioned against each post was apparently done, the fact that such an altering was tantamount to going against the interests of eligible category candidates against various posts needed to be taken cognizance of. The posts approved and those ones advertised should never be in contravention of the laid down guidelines received from the UGC and the Government of India. Whether this goof was deliberate or otherwise, needs to be ascertained and rectified but the pertinent question is as to why should this all be done at all , especially when it could hardly be managed any longer even if done in absolute hush-hush manner .
The other side of the issue could be a possible argument that total number of posts of reservations remained the same with the alteration between them would not cut any ice as that served no purpose in justifying violating roster norms. It is the point involving absolute common sense that when the said roster is approved by the University Council strictly as per governmental procedure followed by making advertisements, any arrangement repugnant to the approved Roaster cannot be allowed by any authority including the Vice Chancellor . Since such Rosters, broadly speaking , are based on statutory considerations, any wilful change therein constituted an offence in law and a criminal act of sheer irregularity.
If it is unhesitatingly taken as an act to shower unwarranted favours on the ‘favourite’ blue eyed candidates, it was no exaggeration. Though a clarification has reportedly come in from the Registrar about there having been no instances of swapping of categories in teaching positions in different disciplines, he has admitted that some un-reserved posts had been reserved for Economically Weaker Sections as per the directions of the Government but no clarification is given in respect of three positions of Assistant Professors in violation of actual roster. The position needs to be inquired into and durable action taken as such alleged violation should not take place in such an institution of high learning.
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