Job test comes seven years after applying!

It has taken almost seven years for the Jammu and Kashmir Service Selection Board (JKSSB) to initiate the selection process for about 1,500 posts in different categories.

Official sources said nearly 85,000 candidates had applied for posts in various government departments since 2008, of which 62,000 were found eligible. They would appear in a written test scheduled to be held across Jammu and Kashmir on November 8.

The JKSSB would hold a written test for nearly 1,500 posts in which over 62,000 candidates who had applied for different categories of posts since 2008 had been issued admit cards, sources said.

The test would be held across Jammu and Kashmir while interviews would be conducted after declaration of results of the written test, the sources said, adding that it clearly exposed the “slackness” and “failure” of successive state governments and the board authorities to complete the selection process in time.

The sources questioned the delay in completing the selection process on time. They said the government should not only devise a mechanism to expedite the recruitment process, but make a provision of punishment for slackness on the part of government and board officials.

The JKSSB had advertised only 3,750 posts on fast-track basis against 4,313 posts referred to the board by various government departments in the last four months.

On June 30, the PDP-BJP government accorded sanction to the adoption of fast-track recruitment policy for making recruitment to government departments. As per rules, all non-gazetted posts would be filled on a fast-track basis within four months.

Despite a lapse of four months, the board had just advertised 3,750 posts instead of 4,313 posts in various government departments, the sources said.

Government slackness was exposed from the fact that the Education Department was yet to refer nearly 2,500 vacant posts to the board, the sources said. They added that the board, after processing application forms of candidates, would conduct a written examination for all posts.

The sources said there were around 7,000 non-gazetted vacancies available in various departments at present. As per the Jammu and Kashmir Special Recruitment Rules, 2015, all vacancies had been ordered to be filled under the fast-track recruitment process, they added.

SA Raina, JKSSB Secretary, said they had advertised 3,750 posts on fast-track basis and the process was likely to be completed by December.

“The Education Department is yet to refer nearly 2,500 posts to the board and all remaining posts will be advertised after the Education Department refers its posts to the board,” he said.

He added that the written test for the posts for which candidates had applied since 2008 would be conducted on November 8.