Around 50,000 candidates appeared for 2,294 contractual vocational trainer posts, but the results have yet to be declared.
Private companies and Samagra Shiksha officials offer differing accounts over the status of the examination results.
Srinagar: Uncertainty is mounting over the future of thousands of candidates who appeared in examinations for contractual Vocational Trainer posts under Samagra Shiksha after authorities failed to declare the results more than four months after the recruitment process was completed.
In January, Samagra Shiksha initiated the recruitment process for 2,294 contractual Vocational Trainer posts across 1,346 government schools in Jammu and Kashmir to implement vocational education under the National Skill Qualification Framework, or NSQF. The posts were advertised through 17 private companies.
The written examinations and interviews were completed by the end of April. Education Minister Sakina Itoo had earlier said that around 50,000 candidates appeared for examinations for the various Vocational Trainer posts.
However, candidates say they have been left waiting without clarity on when the results will be announced.
Twenty-seven-year-old Waseem Ahmad of south Kashmir’s Anantnag district said the delay had caused considerable stress among candidates.
“We are living in constant stress and anxiety due to non-declaration of results. It has been more than four months since I appeared in the examination, but the results are withheld due to unknown reasons,” he said.
Ahmad said the advertisement notice had indicated that the examination and result declaration process would be completed within a month.
Another candidate, 30-year-old Rubina Akhtar, said candidates had contacted the private companies that conducted the examinations to enquire about the status of the results.
She said they were told that private companies had completed the evaluation process and were awaiting approval from the concerned department.
“We don’t understand why there is unnecessary delay. Why are authorities not declaring our result so that we can take a decision about our future?” she asked.
Akhtar said the candidates had also submitted a representation to the Samagra Shiksha department about a month ago under receipt number Ad-edu/PD/Sms/246/k but had not received any response.
An official from one of the private companies, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Free Press Kashmir that the results were ready and could be declared once approval was received from Samagra Shiksha.
“The results are ready. We work under the directions of Samagra Shiksha. Once we get approval from the department, we will declare the result in no time,” the official said.
However, Bhawani Rakwal, State Project Director of Samagra Shiksha, disputed the claim that all results were ready for declaration.
“The papers are still in the checking phase. We have to wait for it. We cannot declare the result and recruit the wrong people,” Rakwal told Free Press Kashmir.
When informed that some companies had said their results were ready and awaiting approval from the department, Rakwal said only a few had completed the process.
“Only two or three companies have submitted. The rest are yet to submit,” he said.
The conflicting accounts have added to the uncertainty among candidates, who are now awaiting the completion of the evaluation process and an official announcement on the results.
