Aazan Manzoor
Srinagar, July 15 (JKNS): The Jammu and Kashmir Government has approved the placement of 786 Assistant Professors, Librarians and Physical Training Instructors (PTIs) to Academic Pay Level-11 (AGP ₹7,000) under the Career Advancement Scheme (CAS), bringing to an end a long-pending issue that had left many faculty members waiting for more than a decade for their rightful career progression.
According to the government Order No. 235-JK(HE) of 2026 dated July 15, 2026, a copy of which lies with news agency JKNS, approving the placement of 786 Assistant Professors, Librarians and Physical Training Instructors (PTIs) of Government Degree Colleges to Academic Pay Level-11 (AGP ₹7,000) under the Career Advancement Scheme (CAS), bringing to an end a long-pending issue that had left many faculty members waiting for years for their rightful career progression.
According to the order, the placement has been sanctioned in terms of the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Education (Gazetted) College Service Recruitment Rules, 2008, as amended vide SRO-124 of 2014 dated April 21, 2014, following the recommendations of the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC), which met on December 5, 2025.
The order, issued by Commissioner/Secretary to the Government, Ram Niwas Sharma, IAS, states that the placement of Assistant Professors, Librarians and PTIs to Academic Pay Level-11 (AGP ₹7,000) has been approved from the dates indicated against each official in the annexure attached to the government order.
Announcing the decision in a post on X, as per JKNS, Higher Education Minister Sakina Itoo described it as one of the largest placement orders issued in recent years, saying the government has fulfilled a long-pending commitment to the teaching community.
“A long-pending issue has finally been resolved. While the matter had remained pending for years, many eligible faculty members had been waiting for more than a decade for their rightful career progression. Under the leadership of Hon’ble Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, we remain committed to ensuring timely promotions, transparency and justice for our teaching community while strengthening higher education in Jammu & Kashmir,” the Minister said.
As earlier reported by JKNS on June 19, Assistant Professors had expressed concern over the delay in their placement from Grade Pay ₹6,000 to ₹7,000, stating that many faculty members recruited during 2016-17, including a large number of PhD holders, had become eligible under the Career Advancement Scheme during 2020-21 but had not received their due placement.
At that time, Commissioner Secretary, Higher Education Department, Ram Niwas Sharma, had told JKNS that 787 placement cases were under process and that the financial implications had already been worked out by the Director Finance.
He had said the file had been submitted to the Special Secretary and would be cleared soon.
With the issuance of the approval, the long-awaited placement process has now been completed, paving the way for the eligible faculty members to receive their career progression and associated service benefits. (JKNS)
