Over 1,400 Assistant Professors await overdue promotions in J&K Colleges

Srinagar, Nov 11: Over 1,400 assistant professors in Jammu and Kashmir's Higher Education Department (HED) continue to await their first career placement to a higher grade—a promotion due to them nearly five years ago.

The faculty members, recruited in 2016-17 to strengthen teaching standards in degree colleges, say the delay has stalled their career progression and caused severe financial hardship.

In 2016-17, HED recruited 1,600 assistant professors across degree colleges in the Union Territory. According to established norms, PhD-qualified assistant professors are eligible for their first placement—from Grade Pay 6,000 to 7,000—within four years of appointment, depending on their joining dates.

For the 2016-17 batch, this advancement was due between 2020 and 2021. However, only around 200 faculty members have been granted the placement so far, leaving over 1,400 still waiting.

"Despite the passage of several years and thousands of written representations and reminders submitted to the department, the file remains pending with HED," the aggrieved professors said.

The delay has created a cascading effect on faculty careers. The next placement—from Grade Pay 7,000 to 8,000, which many professors are now eligible for, cannot be processed until the first one is formally approved.

"The delay by HED in placement of eligible faculty members from Grade Pay 7,000 to 8,000, and the indifferent attitude of officers in the department, has left these professors ineligible for the second placement," the faculty members said.

They accused HED officers of halting their career progression through administrative apathy, causing severe professional and financial stagnation.

"It is really disheartening and demotivating for us. The placement, which was due to us years ago—despite continuous appeals, letters, and meetings—there has been no concrete action from the authorities to resolve the issue," they said.

"We have waited for more than four years for what was rightfully due to us in 2020. Our next placement is already overdue, yet our first one has not been approved. We feel completely ignored," an aggrieved faculty member told Greater Kashmir.

The assistant professors have urged HED to immediately intervene and finalise the long-pending placement cases, ensuring fair and timely career progression for all affected faculty members.

When contacted, Director Colleges J&K Prof. Sheikh Aijaz Bashir said the files for career advancement have been submitted to the administrative department.

"The technical committee has approved the files and submitted them to the HED. We have also opened an online facility for submission of the files, if anyone is left out yet," Prof Bashir told Greater Kashmir.