Syed Snowber
Srinagar,19- Feb : In a welcome news for the unemployed youth of Jammu and Kashmir, the Union Territory administration is set to fill 12,264 vacancies in various government departments.
According to a senior official, this massive recruitment drive comes in the wake of administrative reforms introduced in J&K in August 2019 that have focused on fair, transparent and speedy hiring processes. Notably, nearly 31,830 selections have already been made during this period based on merit.
“In a significant move, interviews have been done away with for posts up to the pay level 5 as part of the ease of recruitment,” the official said. “This has opened up a plethora of opportunities for the local youth who can now directly apply for thousands of updated vacancies.”
The abolishment of subjective interviews and the introduction of fast-track recruitment has brought great relief for unemployed graduates and post-graduates struggling for years to find a secure government job in the region marred by nepotism and red-tapism in the past decades.
“The current push to fill over 12,000 positions ranging from junior engineers, banking associates, police constables, teachers, revenue officials etc is aimed at addressing growing unemployment in J&K and filling long-pending vacancies in various departments. With online applicability and a streamlined selection process, the youth can expect a fair chance this time.”
Experts have welcomed the recruitment initiative but advised the administration to ensure complete transparency and timely completion of the selection process. Recent drives have seen controversies related to irregularities in choosing candidates and delays in appointments – issues the UT administration aims to address through the administrative overhaul.
Government jobs continue to be a top priority for youth in Jammu and Kashmir given the underdeveloped private sector and scarcity of employment opportunities in the UT.
With underdevelopment and years of conflict severely hampering the growth of private enterprises and industries, job options for Kashmiri youth remain limited. The private sector is still in a nascent stage, unable to generate adequate employment. This over-reliance on government jobs has led to severe unemployment and discontentment among the educated youth when public recruitment fails to match the number of eligible applicants.
“The latest initiative to fill over 12,000 vacant posts in various departments is a welcome, albeit small step to address the job crisis. With over 6 lakh jobless youth registered with the local employment exchanges, the actual number of unemployed is estimated to be much higher. Successive governments have struggled to create adequate private sector jobs, making government employment a matter of survival for many young aspirants in J&K struggling with joblessness,” Muhammad Irfan Bhat, a job aspirant.
