Health Minister Pushes Fast-Track Recruitment for Vacant Posts | Kashmir Life

SRINAGAR: Minister for Health and Medical Education, Social Welfare and Education, Sakeena Itoo on Wednesday chaired a high-level meeting to review the recruitment process being undertaken by the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) across key departments, including Health and Medical Education, Social Welfare, Education and the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura.

The meeting was attended by JKSSB Chairman Vikas Kundal, Secretary Khurshid Ahmad Sanai, Additional Director SKIMS Zahoor Ahmad Mir, Controller of Examinations, Director Finance of the Health and Medical Education Department, and other senior officials.

During the review, the Minister assessed progress in filling vacancies across departments and stressed the need to expedite transparent, merit-based recruitment to address critical manpower shortages, particularly in healthcare and allied sectors.

Emphasising efficiency, accountability and fairness, she called for strict adherence to timelines and transparency in the selection process. The Minister directed authorities to speed up recruitment, especially in the Health and Education sectors and at SKIMS, while ensuring effective coordination between departments and the recruiting agency for timely filling of vacancies and deployment of selected candidates.

Highlighting the importance of human resources in improving healthcare access, particularly in remote and underserved areas, Sakeena Itoo urged officials to fast-track ongoing selection processes without compromising merit or fairness. While expressing satisfaction over the pace of recruitment, she cautioned against complacency in meeting future targets.

She reiterated that filling vacant posts remains a priority to strengthen institutional capacity and ensure adequate staffing of healthcare facilities and other departments to meet growing public demand.

With regard to SKIMS Soura, the Minister directed officials to maintain close coordination with JKSSB to ensure timely completion of pending recruitment, underlining the institution’s importance in public healthcare delivery.

The Minister also asked JKSSB to examine the possibility of reducing application fees for advertised posts, directing officials to study fee structures adopted by recruiting agencies in other states and Union Territories in response to candidates’ concerns.

JKSSB Chairman Vikas Kundal briefed the meeting on department-wise recruitment status, upcoming examinations and steps being taken to streamline the process. He informed that 5,789 selections have been finalised over the past 18 months across multiple categories, including technical, paramedical, administrative and support staff, significantly contributing to reducing vacancies and improving service delivery.

He added that more than 700 Junior Engineer selections were finalised last month, and assured that recruitment for over 150 posts in the Health and Medical Education Department would be completed within one and a half months.

The Chairman further stated that around 12,997 posts are currently with JKSSB, including 6,109 yet to be advertised, 6,170 at the examination stage and 373 at the selection stage.