In what is being seen as a move to dilute the autonomy of J&K Public Service Commission (JKPSC), the Jammu and Kashmir administration has asked the Commission to re-advertise vacancies for the posts of assistant professors, librarians and physical training instructors (PTIs) in Higher Education Department after changing their selection criteria.
In a first, the UT administration has also decided to have two of the five members in JKPSC’s screening committee from among its own nominees, including serving bureaucrats, to interview shortlisted candidates.
The JKPSC is an autonomous and statutory body created by an Act of Parliament,
On the screening committee’s composition to conduct interviews and viva-voce, the UT administration has stated that it will be headed by the JKPSC chairperson or any member of the Commission nominated by him/her, an external member from outside J&K to be nominated by the Higher Education Department, the Administrative Secretary of the Higher Education Department or a person nominated by him/her, besides two subject experts nominated by JKPSC from outside the UT.
For this, the UT administration has asked JKPSC to amend Rule 45 of JKPSC (Business and Procedure) Rules, 2021. The instructions came after JKPSC had already shortlisted candidates for interview, and even announced their names on its website, sources said.
In a communique to JKPSC, dated September 20, the Higher Education Department referred to minutes of a meeting chaired by J&K Chief Secretary Dr Arun Kumar Mehta to review Rule 45 of the 2021 Rules in recruitment of assistant professors. At the meeting, it was unanimously decided that “in the interest of full transparency and objectivity, the selection criteria need to be modified to place greater emphasis on written examination and reduce discretion by limiting the marks for interview’’.
The communiqué noted that the JKPSC Secretary, who was present at the meeting, was requested to place the revised criteria and other changes, “as unanimously agreed before the Commission”; to carry out necessary changes in Rule 45 and other relevant rules to make the recruitment process “fully objective and transparent”. The PSC was also urged to withdraw the posts of assistant professor, librarian and PTIs and re-advertise them after changing the selection criteria.
The Commission’s Secretary did not respond to repeated phone calls.
Many former members of JKPSC, meanwhile, expressed surprise over the UT administration’s request asking an autonomous and statutory agency to change its Business and Procedure Rules instead of fixing its own selection criteria for vacancies referred by it. These former members also said that by bringing its officials on the board of JKPSC’s screening committee, the administration is trying to downgrade it by interfering in its functioning.
When contacted, a top functionary in the UT administration said that the Act and Rules are at different footings, and that the procedure laid down is always followed.
As per various notifications available on JKPSC website, 112 candidates were shortlisted from August 26 to September 16 this year to appear for interview for the posts of assistant professor in Urdu, Education, History, Geography, Tour & Travel. Commerce, Economics, Biochemistry, Bio-Informatics, Environmental Science, Sericulture, Hindi, Islamic Studies, Industrial Chemistry, Philosophy, Math, Statistics, Computer Application and Electronics.
The Higher Education Department had referred 365 posts of assistant professors/librarians and 52 PTIs to JKPSC for recruitment in 2020 in accordance with provisions of SRO 124 of April 21, 2014, as amended from time to time. The Commission invited applications in 2021 and shortlisted most of the candidates for interview this year.
To ensure free and fair selection of candidates to gazetted-level posts, JKPSC only undertakes the selection process in accordance with the criteria laid down by the agency that sends the vacancies. However, where the selection criteria are not fixed by the agency concerned, Rule 45 of JKPSC’s (Business and Procedure) Rules, 2021, applies automatically, sources said.
These rules are widely consonant with UGC guidelines for such vacancies, sources pointed out.
Since the UT administration’s SRO 124 did not provide the mode of selection for these vacancies, the Commission went by Rule 45, which allocates only 20 marks for the interview and gives main emphasis on a candidate’s academic record. In the case of assistant professor and equivalent posts, it provided for 15-35 points on pro-rata for a candidate with graduation, post-graduation in relevant discipline (20 points), post-graduation (five years integrated in relevant subject)/discipline after 10+2 (35 points); SET/SLET (4 – 8 points), NET (6), NET + SET/SLET (6), NET + JRF (8); besides M.Phil (6-15 points), Ph.D (15 points), Post-Doctoral (minimum one year) 3 points.
Similarly, points on pro rata basis for various academic qualifications including research work in the case of Librarians and Physical Training Instructors (PTIs) as well. In the case of PTIs, weightage is also given to medals the candidates won, besides their performance in eight-minute run/walk test for 600 m to 1000 m.
Now, the administration wants JKPSC to keep only 10 marks for academic qualification of a candidate to be distributed on pro rata basis for a degree in UG, PG, NET, SET, SLET, Ph.D and Experience (as per UGC guidelines). Of the remaining, it wants 75 marks to be kept for written test (60 for paper-I in the relevant subject and 15 marks for paper-II GK on general studies, Indian history and culture, Constitution of India, ability enhancement, etc.
The interview will fetch a candidate a maximum score of 15, according to the administration.