SATC-qualified Junior Assistants rue promotion delay by SED

Srinagar, Sep 24: Hundreds of Junior Assistants of the School Education Department (SED) rue the inordinate delay in their promotion even after successfully passing the Secretariat Assistant Training Course (SATC) examination.

A statement of the aggrieved Junior Assistants said that the result of the SATC exam was declared on April 25, 2025.

The employees said that after repeated requests from the eligible candidates, the Director of School Education, Kashmir, issued a notification vide number DSEK/PD/PO/455 dated June 13, 2025, for convening the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) meeting on June 14, 2025.

“The Departmental Promotion Committee met on the scheduled date and recommended promotion of 158 eligible Junior Assistants as Senior Assistants. However, despite the passage of more than three months, no promotion orders have been issued to date,” they said.

The employees said the delay had left many frustrated, who were now raising questions about the purpose of holding a DPC meeting.

“It seems that DPC was conducted merely as a formality without any real intention of delivering results,” the employees said.

They said that the Minister for Education, on August 30, announced that promotion orders of 458 teaching and non-teaching officials would be issued within two days.

“Unfortunately, this promise also turned out to be a hoax,” they said.

The employees said that despite fulfilling all eligibility criteria, their promotion files had been delayed due to favouritism towards a few selected individuals working in the directorate.

“These individuals, being junior, are not included in the promotion list, which is prepared in terms of seniority,” one of the employees said.

The employees said that employees from other departments, like the Public Works Department (PWD) and Health, who also passed the SATC examination, have already received their promotion orders, leaving employees of SED disappointed.

“The delay is not merely an administrative setback, but it has become a matter of injustice. The delay in promotions is impacting the morale of the employees,” they said.

One of the employees said that they had undergone training, passed an exam, and DPC had already been met.

“But we will fail to understand why our promotion orders are delayed while other departments have moved ahead. It is very frustrating,” they said.