Observers, Magistrates await payment since Oct 2021
FAIZAN BUKHARI
SRINAGAR : The Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) has not paid the Examination Observers and Duty Magistrates who discharged their duties for the board’s Computer Based Tests (CBTs) held across the UT of J&K since October 2021.
Despite collecting crores of rupees as examination fees from the job aspirants, the board has not cleared the liabilities on account of the online tests conducted for the selection of different posts advertised from time to time.
JKSSB started a mega selection drive using the online examination mode (CBT) for various categories of posts with effect from October 27, 2021. The CBT was outsourced to a non-local agency. Accordingly, examination centres were fixed in districts like Jammu, Kathua, Srinagar, Budgam, Baramulla and Anantnag as the infrastructure required was mainly available in these districts.
The CBT test for over 56,000 candidates started in a phased manner. “Each day there were three shifts starting from 9 AM – 5 PM. Our duty started at 7.30 in the morning and ended at 5.30 in the evening. The examination schedule kept on extending as more categories of posts were included in the CBT in the months of November and December 2021. However, there were only two shifts in the month of December,” the observers and magistrates told Kashmir Despatch.
These observers were drawn from different government departments and institutions operating in the district while the Tehsildars and Naib Tehsildars from different places were deployed as magistrates by the concerned Deputy Commissioners for the test venue centres under their respective jurisdictions. In addition, the General Administration Department (GAD) deployed one JKAS officer as observer for each test venue as an extra level of scrutiny for these exams.
The number of examination centres identified in six districts across the Union Territory of J&K was almost 35-40 and three senior officials had been deployed for each centre for over a period of one and a half month against a remuneration of Rs. 1000 per day or session. This was in addition to the invigilators deployed by the respective exam centres and the test conducting agency. The test conducting agency has been given the contract of conducting the examination across J&K and JKSSB is supposed to make the payment as per the terms and conditions mutually agreed upon. However, the magistrates and observers deployed by the concerned district administrations have not been paid so far even as they have submitted the required honorarium forms along with details of the duties they have discharged for the JKSSB.
However, JKSSB authorities have been delaying the release of honorarium in favour of these officials who performed the examination duties in addition to their own roles and responsibilities.
JKSSB has been charging an amount of Rs. 350 per candidate as examination fees and the number of applicants for different categories of posts advertised has been in thousands helping the board to collect crores of rupees from the unemployed youth.
“This honorarium amount has now become a liability for JKSSB. The board is reluctant to pay us now that examinations have concluded and results have been declared,” said Nisar Ahmad (name changed) a government official who has discharged his duties as an Examination Observer.
Chairman JKSSB Khalid Jehangir could not be reached for his comments despite repeated attempts by Kashmir Despatch.
