The students of Sher-i-Kashmir University for Agricultural Sciences, SKUAST-K have been observing strike since 4 days.
They have been demanding that the intervention of administrative officials to create job opportunities for Horticulture Graduates who have been rendered jobless since the inception of BSC Horticulture Programme in 2007.
The varsity gates were occupied by students for 3 days and after repeated assurances by the Hon’ble VC of SKUAST-K, the students budged solely on the fact that their grievances would be redressed within 5 days.
They also threw open the gates of the varsity as a token of appreciation for the administration for listening & providing fruitful insights to the protesting students.
According to a press release issued by the students group to The Kashmiriyat, the sit in protests are going on and they would call off the strike only when they see tangible results .
The students said they will be observing a pen down strike for another 5 days at least.
The immediate demand of the students is that the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) recently advertised some 345 posts under the Horticulture section wherein the eligibility criteria mentioned was faulty.4
They had given preference to Basic Horticulture Training (BHT) diploma holders over BSc Horticulture degree holders. It is only a one-year-long diploma course while BSc Horticulture is a four-year degree program wherein course work is done for three years and a one-year internship program.
The long-overdue apathy of University Administration is slowly vanishing and VC has been giving confidence to the students. Around 300 students including undergraduates, postgraduates, Ph.D. students, and post-doctorates are protesting.
The main concerns include the following :
Revision of eligibility of Horticulture Posts (viz., Horticulture Development Officer, Horticulture Grading/Marketing Inspector, Senior Horticulture Technician, and Horticulture technician IV) and Reorganization of Horticulture Department regarding.
Firstly, the revision of eligibility of the Horticulture posts (Gazetted and non-Gazetted) is a very long pending issue that needs to be resolved as soon as possible to smoothen the recruitment process which is on halt for more than a decade now.
The students also alleged that till now, their voices have fallen on deaf ears.
However after the protest the Div. Comm and the VC SKUAST-K have assured a speedy action, the students said in their press release.