Lt Governor Manoj Sinha’s recent announcement of age relaxation for J&K Combined Competitive Examination (JKCCE) has brought a huge respite to the unemployed educated youth in Jammu & Kashmir. The announcement by all standards of understandabilities shows the incumbent J&K Government’s concern over increasing joblessness triggered by suspension of business operations during two successive covid lockdowns in last two years of Pandemic in Jammu & Kashmir like many states and union territories of the country. Since the increasing unemployment according to some media reports has risen to 24% in Jammu & Kashmir, the announcement of age relaxation for J&K Combined Competitive Examination (JKCCE) has thrown up job opportunities to those hundreds of unemployed educated youth who had crossed the upper age limit of 32 years fixed for government jobs in Jammu & Kashmir. It is in place to mention here that unemployed youth had been consistently appealing Lt Governor Manoj Sinha for age relaxation in the J&K Combined Competitive Examination (J&KCEE) for last several months and finally the Government has shown respect to the job aspirations of thousands of educated unemployed youth of Jammu & Kashmir. Much better it would be if this age relaxation is also applied to recruitments for all government appointments for next three years in Jammu & Kashmir in view of the growing unemployment in Jammu & Kashmir like many states and union territories of the country. What matters the most is the Lt Governor’s promise that J&K Combined Competitive Examination (JKCCE) would be now conducted annually as this part of the announcement would surely attract the participation of more and more youth in the J&K Combined Competitive Examination. Even much more better it would be if the J&K Government also makes J&K Judicial Services Examination for appointment of civil Judges and Police Sub Inspector’s Examination also a regular annual recruitment exercise from now onwards.
Since industries have not expanded the way they should have been expanded in Jammu & Kashmir during several decades of popular rule of the erstwhile J&K State Governments , the youth of Jammu & Kashmir rely more on government jobs and very less on their employment opportunities in private sector. Till the time fresh industrial investments throw up new employment opportunities for educated unemployed youth in Jammu & Kashmir , the educated unemployed Jammu & Kashmir youth will continue to pursue issues of government jobs with the Government of Jammu & Kashmir.
The annual conduct of such competitive examinations for recruitment to lucrative services in the government would consequently generate the spirit of competitiveness among educated youth in Jammu & Kashmir. Never forget that popular governments’’ of erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir state would always tend to defer and prolong such recruitment process which was one of the biggest causes for increasing frustration among educated unemployed youth in Jammu & Kashmir. Since industries have not expanded the way they should have been expanded in Jammu & Kashmir during several decades of popular rule of the erstwhile J&K State Governments , the youth of Jammu & Kashmir rely more on government jobs and very less on their employment opportunities in private sector. Till the time fresh industrial investments throw up new employment opportunities for educated unemployed youth in Jammu & Kashmir , the educated unemployed Jammu & Kashmir youth will continue to pursue issues of government jobs with the Government of Jammu & Kashmir.
