Forestry students continue strike at SKUAST-K, seek degree-specific recruitment

Srinagar, Sept. 23: Forestry scholars and students at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology-Kashmir (SKUAST-K) continued their strike for the third consecutive day on Wednesday, demanding degree-specific recruitment opportunities and immediate advertisement of vacant Range Officer posts.

The protesting students said the agitation would continue until concrete action was taken on their demands.

The students have raised two major demands: making B.Sc. Forestry the sole prescribed educational qualification for recruitment to the post of Forester, and advertising all vacant Range Officer posts from 2018 to 2026 without further delay.

The protesters said that for several years they had been forced to protest instead of focusing on academics, research and career development due to uncertainty surrounding recruitment rules.

“Students should be studying, conducting research and building their careers, but repeated uncertainty over recruitment rules has turned us into protesters,” they said.

The students questioned why a specialised four-year B.Sc. Forestry degree should not receive corresponding recognition in recruitment to posts in the Forest Department.

They pointed to professional degrees such as B.Tech, B.Sc. Agriculture, B.Sc. Horticulture, Nursing, Pharmacy and Law, saying that these qualifications generally have recruitment opportunities linked to their respective fields of specialisation.

“Forestry is a specialised professional discipline,” the protesters said, arguing that if graduates from other disciplines are not considered eligible for posts requiring specialised qualifications in their respective fields, forestry graduates should similarly have corresponding recognition for posts specifically related to forestry.

The students also alleged that most posts in the Forest Department have historically remained open to candidates from multiple academic backgrounds, resulting in limited direct employment opportunities for forestry graduates.

According to the protesters, the Range Officer post remains the main opportunity available to them, but vacancies have not been advertised regularly.

They said recruitment rules concerning the Range Officer post were also sought to be amended in 2022, which, according to them, led to prolonged agitation.

The protesting students said they had now decided not to withdraw their agitation until concrete action was initiated on their demands.

“If our specialised degree is not given due recognition in recruitment, students will naturally question whether they should pursue the course at all,” they said.

The students said public resources were being invested in specialised education and the government should ensure that such qualifications were meaningfully recognised in employment.

They maintained that the objective of their protest was not confrontation but recognition of their professional qualification and creation of a fair and transparent recruitment framework for forestry graduates.

“We have remained patient for years. This time, we do not want assurances alone. We want our demands to be addressed through concrete action,” they said.