Improve functioning of SKUAST-J

The only agriculture university in Jammu region, the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology is far from satisfactorily functioning because of administrative incompetence. Its vital Krishi Vigyan Kendras too are in bad shape because of insufficient crucial infrastructure that of administrative, faculty and non teaching placements not being filled and allowed to remain vacant. The premise should be for any institution to be worth its name and purpose to function and deliver and one could only wonder as to how “Chalta Hai” approach has so much overwhelmingly engulfed the administration of Jammu and Kashmir that more than 200 posts calculated on bare minimum requirements are allowed to remain vacant and not filled in the University.
While on the one hand, cries of massive unemployment are rending the air almost across the country and perhaps more in Jammu and Kashmir, how come as many as 200 posts are allowed to remain vacant. How is the work getting on in the absence of the requisite personnel and whether the quantum of underperformance and low quality performance both are calculated and interpreted in net monetary loss. That will look something as unusual but in real management parlance, we must calculate costs, outputs and losses so as to strive for corrective measures. After all, there must be some mechanism in force to assess on periodic basis about the work in its various administrative offices, departments and divisions and the report on that must be regularly be reaching the General Administration Department pinpointing the causes of work being severely affected. The question is as to what action has been taken so far?
There must be reasons, sufficient and cogent, as to why the Finance Department is less than expected responsive to the requirements of the University especially when there are posts vacant like that of the Registrar, Director Planning and Monitoring, Dean FBSc, Estate Officer, University Librarian, Dean Students Welfare and Associate Director Research, posts of Professors, Associate Professors etc (the list is long). These posts are all under direct quota basis. It is reported that SKUAST Jammu has been requesting for filling up these posts but Finance Department is showing no willingness to proceed further in the matter. As per the prevalent guidelines, concurrence of the Finance Department was a pre-requisite before any exercise was undertaken in connection with recruitment and filling of vacant posts. Could we call it administrative bankruptcy or non willingness to take decisions and thus keep matters of critical importance lingering on even though it could wreak havoc with the functioning of the University. We could place the scenario safely under absolute red-tape culture ?
We have learnt that apart from the SKUAST, even the University Grants Commission has also been impressing upon the concerned state authorities for filling up of at least the teaching staff and had even suggested a period of six months for completing the exercise but nothing has happened as the writ of the Finance Department over the matter has been more than ordinarily required in terms of inelastic approach and mindset, ignoring the need and the requirements. Not only this, Indian Council of Agricultural Research too has urged and recommended for undertaking the process towards filling up of posts in KVKs which are funded by it on 100 per cent basis but the State Finance Department and the General Administration Department both are maintaining exotic silence. While we appreciate the difficulties faced by the SKUAST administration in running the affairs even in absence of the requisite staff, at the same time, we would like to know the reasons of total reluctance and no concurrence given by the Finance Department in the matter under reference.

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