Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Higher Education Department has granted probation benefits to over one thousand Assistant Professors, who had been ruing the delay in their due increments.
The 1061 APs posted by the Higher Education at different degree colleges in J&K over the years had earlier alleged that the department had deprived them of the due increments which they are entitled to once they complete the probation period of first two years of their service.
The department, they said, had failed to clear their files even after they had submitted their Annual Property Returns (APRs) through the principals of the respective colleges upon completion of the probation period.
Now, much to the relief of the aggrieved teachers, Secretary Higher Education Department, Talat Parvez Rohella has granted confirmation of probations of 1061 APs.
An order to this effect was issued by the department on Friday.
The order reads that the APs, who were serving as probationers of different subjects shall be deemed to have completed their probation satisfactorily and will be confirmed as members of J&K Education College Service.
The affected APs meanwhile, had a sigh of relief and thanked the department for clearing their files.
One of the APs told Kashmir Reader that the confirmation will bring them at par with the gazetted employees and entitle them to the increments which were due to them, after the completion of probation period.
The confirmation will also entitle them to the Study Leave, which they were not before.
Pertinently, the APs had earlier alleged that hundreds of them appointed at the degree colleges since 2016 were virtually still on probation as the department had failed to clear their files.
While some of them had completed 4 years of their service, others were in service for at least 3 years, they had said.
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”.

Irshad Khan