SRINAGAR: Assistant professors at degree colleges said that Jammu and Kashmir Higher Education Department (HED) has deprived them of increments by failing to clear their probation period even after the stipulated time.
Assistant professors appointed in the HED have to submit their Annual Property Returns (APRs) to the department through the principals of the respective colleges upon completion of a probation period of the first two years of service.
However, the aggrieved assistant professors told Kashmir Reader that more than 800 of them appointed at the degree colleges since 2016 were virtually still on probation even after two years past the stipulated time-period.
While some of them had completed 4 years of their service, others were in service for at least 3 years, they informed.
The HED, they said, had failed to approve their APRs even though their files were “deemed to be cleared within 90 days as per norms even if the government does not do so”.
“The department’s failure to clear the files of the APs, had deprived them of many due increments”, they added.
The teachers alleged that the department had subjected them to “collective punishment” after a principal of a degree college in north Kashmir recently forwarded negative APRs of three APs posted there.
“Just because a principal has written negative remarks in the APRs of the professors, majority of us have been made a scapegoat. Why should the files of majority of us be withheld because of this?” an aggrieved AP asked.
They further alleged that principals of several degree colleges, too had delayed the APRs of many APs “on the pretext” of the incident in the north Kashmir college.
The teachers said that they had been subjected to “humiliation” at the hands of the officials, who were now demanding ‘integrity certificates’ from them after the incident.
“Majority of ushas submitted ourAPRs to the principals, who have forwarded them to the department, but there has been no progress after that,” a teacher said.
Secretary HED, Talat Parvez denied repeated calls made by this reporter over the mater. Director Colleges, Dr Yaseen Ahmad Shah could not be contacted for his comments.

Irshad Khan