Hr Education: Where bureaucrats quote Bible and clerks practice nepotism

Class IV recruitment scam: Part 2

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Feb 24: Commissioner-Secretary of Higher Education Department, Tanvir Jehan, as she herself revealed to this newspaper, made consistent efforts for ten days to explore possibility of her Orderly’s absorption against a Class IV vacancy when the process of regularizing 130 Local Fund Employees (LFEs) was in its last leg. The orderly, Munish, has been engaged like hundreds of others in the last 18 years to work as a Class IV employee but take remuneration of less than Rs 3,000 a month from the College Local Fund. All of her efforts to favour Munish failed. He does not figure anywhere among 130 men and women who have been appointed vide Order No: 50/HE of 2012 dated 17-02-2012.

                

Shameema of Bemina, who is now a grandmother of four children and stands engaged on LF in 1994, has been dropped for being only “Middle Pass”. Nobody has explained to her how four incumbents of the same category (Open), qualification and year of engagement have been appointed as Laboratory Bearers and one more from the list as Library Bearer. Matriculate of 1994 (Roll No: 872479) Gulshan Ara, who has been engaged on 29-10-1996 has been shown as “Middle Pass” despite her name and qualification being duly recorded and verified in all the tentative and final lists of LFEs published in newspapers by Department of Higher Education, Civil Secretariat. On this pretext, Gulshan Ara has been elbowed out to create space for relatives of the men having served or serving in the same department.

Accommodated in RBA category and appointed as Library Bearer on 17-02-2012, Shabir Ahmad Tantray stands engaged on 06-05-2002, eight years after Shameema and six years after Gulshan. While as Shameema and Gulshan gave their sweat and blood to keep their colleges---Govt Degree College Bemina and Government College for Women M A Road---running in extreme hostile conditions, Shabir did the service of cooking meals at the house of his Principal Zeenat Ara in Rajbagh. Even before the selection list was published in local newspapers on 19-02-2012, he knew it for sure---and had shared with his colleagues---that he stood selected.

Ghulam Mohammad Sheikh S/o Mohammad Shaban Sheikh of Sarai Payeen, Srinagar, has retired from service after serving as a clerk in Department of Higher Education for over three decades. During his posting at Government Degree College Bemina, Sheikh managed to engage his sister Shaheena (Matriculate) D/o Mohammad Shaban Sheikh on the College Local Fund on 01-06-1994. In the list published on 19-02-2012, she stands appointed as Orderly at Serial No: 4.

Later, when Ghulam Mohammad Sheikh was functioning as Head Assistant at Government College for Women Nawakadal in 2000, he managed to engage his second sister, Sabina Jabeen, on the College Local Fund on 01-12-2000. In the list published on 19-02-2012, she too stands appointed as Library Bearer at Serial No: 33.

Bilal Ahmad of Lalbazar is working as head assistant in Department of Higher Education at Civil Secretariat. In early 1990s, he got his sister-in-law No:1, namely Kousar Jan, appointed as Laboratory Assistant in Government Degree College Baramulla.

Later, on 01-05-2001, Bilal Ahmad managed to engage his sister-in-law No:2, namely Shubeena Tabasum, engaged on College Local Fund at Government College for Women M A Road Srinagar. In the list published on 19-02-2012, she stands appointed as Library Bearer at Serial No: 7. According to the college staff, she had revealed to her colleagues about her selection and had relinquished her charge in December 2011 when the final appointment list was being finalized.

Later, Bilal Ahmad managed to get his sister-in-law No:3, namely Rifat Zargar, engaged on College Local Fund at Government Degree College Bemina. She figured at Serial No: 98 in the seniority list. According to well placed sources in Department of Higher Education at Civil Secretariat, she too was placed in the final selection list but was later removed with the assurance that she would be absorbed in the next selection. Her name was dropped at the eleventh hour to create a slot for another favourite.

“Since I failed to accommodate my dutiful orderly Munish despite my best efforts, I am not ready to accept that any favouritism or nepotism has taken place in the selection”, Commissioner-Secretary of Higher Education Department, Tanvir Jehan, maintained. When, specific examples of irregularity were pointed out to her, she said that the list had been published in newspaper with an announcement in its last paragraph complaints and grievances if any should be submitted to her within 15 days. Again, it was pointed out to her by this newspaper that such an “announcement” was nowhere there. In fact, the candidates selected have been asked to join regular service within 21 days.

Both, Tanvir Jehan, as well as incharge Director of Colleges, Muqbil Chisti, who has supervised entire exercise of the recruitment of LFEs, told Early Times that they would entertain complaints and grievances in the next 15 days, remove all irregularities and accommodate the victims. They asserted that anybody found involved in fudging the selection and practicing nepotism, favouritism or other unfair means, would be given exemplary punishment.

END