Sam’eer
SRINAGAR: At a time the State Board of Technical Education (SBOTE) is in the news for all the bad reasons for poor marks evaluation that forced one student to commit suicide, the department has been once again thrown into the mess in the name of “overhauling” it.
After forcing a teacher for compulsory retirement terming him a ‘deadwood’ who had wrongly evaluated the answer paper of 18-year-old Adnan Gilkar, a student of electronics engineering in Jammu and Kashmir, the higher-ups in the department have once again posted a junior most official at the crucial post of Deputy registrar Technical Education Board.
Official sources in the department said that the post of deputy registrar is of the same grade of a lecturer, but the post has added responsibilities and directly deals with the evaluation of marks sheets.
“A person who has at least worked as a supervisor or a superintendent of any exam center deserves the post. But now a person with two years of experience as a probationary lecturer has been appointed for the post while those with experience of over 10 or 15 years have been left out. Is this how the government wants to revamp the system in this department?” said a source.
The copy of the government order in possession of this newspaper reads that one Ms Inhas Ashraf, lecturer grade (1), attached with Govt Polytechnic Bemina, has been posted as Deputy Registrar SBOTE, divisional office Kashmir.
Many in the department said that in the name of revamping the ailing department, the government is accommodating its own people on important positions and selective people termed as deadwood are replaced and transferred.
“If everyone has been transferred why the registrar Jatender Kesar has not been transferred, though he is directly responsible for the evaluation of marks sheets because he is the man who sees all this,” an official said pleading anonymity. He alleged that Kesar is a close aide of the OSD to the Minister for Technical Education.
When contact the newly appointed Deputy Registrar Inhas Ashraf, who has recently completed her probation period, said she is just following the government order, and nothing else. “I have joined the office few days ago. I am just following the government orders,” she said.
Minister for Technical Education, Imran Ansari said he has no information about the posting. “It will be better if you talk to my commissioner secretary. I will provide you his number,” he said.
Commissioner Secretary to the government Technical Education department Hridesh Kumar said the move was taken to give a new face to the department as a part of exercise to revamping the department following the error controversy in a marks sheet.
“There is nothing like political appointment. She is young so we decided to give her a chance to deliver. If she fails to deliver we will replace her with the experienced official,” he said.