In a significant move, the Jammu and Kashmir Government has decided to review the rules governing the appointment of Class IV employees, commonly referred to as multi-tasking staff. Akashvani Jammu Correspondent reports that to initiate the process, the Government has constituted a high-level committee under the chairmanship of the Administrative Secretary, Finance Department. The committee also includes the Administrative Secretary, General Administration Department; Administrative Secretary, Skill Development Department; and Administrative Secretary, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Department. The committee has been mandated to review the statutory order issued by the General Administration Department on January 29, 2022, which re-designated all “Class IV” jobs in Jammu and Kashmir as “Multi-tasking Staff (MTS),” except for sanitation workers and posts requiring technical qualifications. It has also been tasked with reviewing relevant statutes to suggest appropriate measures regarding the recruitment of Multi-tasking Staff by recruiting agencies. The committee will examine the minimum and maximum qualification criteria and recommend the provision of specific qualifications or skill tests to ensure the recruitment of manpower suited to departmental needs. According to existing rules, the minimum qualification for Class IV jobs is matriculation (10th pass), while the maximum qualification is 12th pass (10+2). Candidates with higher qualifications are not eligible for these posts. This move comes at a time when 12,351 posts of multi-tasking staff are vacant in government departments. In addition to these posts, 3,808 gazetted posts and 24,507 non-gazetted posts are also vacant in J&K.
