For the recruitment of Finance Accounts Assistants, recently the JKSSB released a notification notice (No. 4, 2020) in which they have set the eligibility criteria for the posts as any graduate. The post, though, requires knowledge of Accounting, which is only taught in the Commerce stream, hence the jobs should be reserved for Commerce graduates only. Moreover, JKSSB has framed a faulty syllabus for the entrance exam. It not only leans towards Science and Maths but also leaves little scope for Accounting professionals. As the latter are well versed with the pros and cons of the job, they should have been given precedence as far as the posts were concerned. Contrarily, the syllabus framed by JKSSB provides only 15 marks out of 120 for the Accountancy portion. That’s a very meagre sum.
My contention is that any jobs that need professional qualification should be left to its experts, rather than bringing in every tom, dick and harry into the profession. That way, neither the morale of professionals would suffer a blow, nor would people have to suffer at unprofessional or unknowledgeable hands.
As in other states, the eligibility for any Accounting post is graduation in Commerce. The same used to be followed not too long ago in Kashmir as well. Only students belonging to Commerce, Economics, Maths and Statistics were eligible for the post (refer to Government Order 515-F 2018 dated 30-11-2018). There are many other notifications by the JKSSB that allow only professionals or students of specific streams to apply for posts.
Most of the state boards set a special eligibility for posts like Accounts Assistants. Recently, the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL) advertised for Accounts Assistants vide no. 05/VSO/2020/AA/Backlog in which eligibility was BCom. The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Jammu and others as well made only Commerce graduates eligible for the post of accountant. The Uttrakhand Subordinate Service Selection Commission (UKSSSC) recently advertised the post of Accounts Assistant for which the eligibility was BCom or BBA. Even in J&K, the IUST recruits only Commerce graduates for the post of Accounts Assistant, and last but not the least, the University of Kashmir also recruits only Commerce graduates for the post of Accounts Assistant.
After abolishing the criteria of Commerce graduate, the JKSSB has advertised some posts in which they have made only students with Science background eligible for posts of Laboratory Attendant, Laboratory Assistant, Bee Keeper, and several others. Only students who have done graduation or 10+2 in Science are eligible for these posts. But if a student with no knowledge of Accounting can be appointed as an Accountant, why cannot a Commerce graduate rear bees? If we are not qualified for the job, then how are Science students eligible to be Accountants? Can’t a commerce student manage a library or a laboratory? If it’s because he lacks training or knowledge of the field, then why has the government made all graduates eligible for the Accounts Assistant post?
The JKSSB, thus, is playing a double game. Giving precedence to special qualification in certain posts and removing the same for others is total injustice. Such double standards should be done away with, so that students do not suffer after toiling for years for a certain degree to get a suitable job. The reason that students prefer to not pursue Commerce these days is due to such injustices.
The jobs that should have been reserved for Accounting students and professionals are slipping away from them. The government has either to make all graduates eligible for all graduate-level posts, no matter what their background, or it has to make only Commerce students eligible for the FAA posts. If it can’t do so, then they should pass an order at the earliest to educational institutions to stop offering Commerce as it is of no use either to the students or to the government. That may save thousands of students from a spoiled career.

The writer is a student of Aligarh Muslim University. [email protected]

Afridi Mushtaq