Srinagar, July 22, KNT: Raising serious concern over the alarming shortage of non-teaching staff in government schools across Kashmir division, the Jammu & Kashmir School Education Non-Teaching Employees Forum (SENTE F) and JAKSONE on Tuesday called on the government to take immediate steps to fill hundreds of vacant posts, regularise pending cases, and address long-pending demands of non-teaching employees in the School Education Department.
In a joint press conference in Srinagar, the leadership according to the news agency Kashmir News Trust pointed out that over 300 sanctioned non-teaching posts, spread across categories such as section officers, head assistants, and senior assistants, remain vacant in the Directorate of School Education Kashmir (DSEK).
They said that 233 out of 387 sanctioned non-teaching posts in Kashmir Division are lying vacant. Among these, 21 of 54 section officer posts and 31 of 54 head assistant positions have not been filled, causing severe administrative inefficiencies.
📢 8,000+ readers already joined for instant Kashmir News Trust updates
“This staff shortage is severely hampering office work, increasing the workload of existing staff, and slowing down the overall functioning of the education sector,” said the union representatives. “The timely re-framing and filling of these posts are crucial for the smooth functioning of schools and administrative offices.”
The speakers including Ghulam Jeelani Naik and Mir Basharat urged the School Education Department to expedite the re-framing of non-teaching cadres and ensure timely promotions and regularisation of services. They accused the department of showing “criminal silence” on legitimate service matters of non-teaching employees.
They further demanded immediate re-framing of all sanctioned non-teaching posts, timely promotions and career progression opportunities, resolution of stagnation issues and a streamlined seniority system and formation of a separate and functional Non-Teaching Cadre under the department.
The forum appealed to the authorities including the Secretary, and Principal Secretary School Education to personally intervene in the matter. They warned that if the government fails to act within a reasonable timeframe, the employees would be compelled to launch a protest campaign. [KNT]
