Govt collects Rs 31 crore as job test fees for unemployed youth, rules out any waiver

Srinagar, Oct 28: The Jammu and Kashmir government on Tuesday said there is no proposal under consideration to abolish recruitment test fees, even as it disclosed that over Rs 31 crore has been collected from job applicants during the past year.

Responding to a question raised by Peoples Conference MLA Sajad Gani Lone in the Legislative Assembly, the Minister in-charge of the General Administration Department (GAD) informed that Rs 31,75,32,400 has been collected as application fees by the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC) and the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB).

The government clarified that the recruitment fee helps cover administrative and operational expenses incurred while conducting examinations, including advertisement, application processing, printing, manpower deployment, and technological arrangements to ensure transparency in the recruitment process. The Minister added that the fee structure in J&K is comparable to those charged by other government recruiting agencies across the country.

“The application fee charged by recruiting agencies is meant to meet the costs related to advertisement, processing, manpower, and logistics required for fair conduct of recruitment examinations,” the reply stated.

The disclosure drew sharp criticism from Sajad Lone, who accused the ruling National Conference of backtracking on its election promise.

“In its election manifesto, the JKNC had promised to waive application fees for recruitment agencies like the SSRB and JKPSC. I asked whether that commitment had been fulfilled. The government’s own reply shows Rs 31 crore has been collected since October last year,” Lone posted on X.

He alleged that the government had once again betrayed the youth of Jammu and Kashmir. “This Rs 31 crore reflects one of the many broken promises and a trail of lies and deceit. Can they, for once, admit that they lied and apologise?” Lone said.