The Himachal Pradesh government has notified new recruitment and promotion rules for the appointment of principals in government polytechnic institutions, doing away with the provision of direct recruitment. From now on, all appointments to the post will be made through promotion only.
The new rules have been implemented by the Department of Technical Education, Vocational and Industrial Training after consultation with the Public Service Commission. With this notification, the earlier rules in force since 1993 have been repealed. As per the revised framework, a total of 23 posts of Polytechnic Principal have been sanctioned in the state. The post will fall under Group-A (Selection Grade) with a pay scale fixed at Level-28.
According to the notification, only officers currently working as Heads of Department will be eligible for promotion to the post of Principal, subject to prescribed educational qualifications and experience. For candidates holding a PhD, a minimum of 16 years of experience with a first-class degree at the graduate or postgraduate level in the relevant subject has been made mandatory. This must include at least five years of experience as Head of Department and three years after obtaining the PhD. For officers without a PhD, the experience requirement has been fixed at 20 years, including a minimum of seven years at the Head of Department level, along with a first-class degree.
The rules also link promotion eligibility to performance feedback. For PhD holders, the average feedback score for the last five years must be between 5 and 8, while for non-PhD candidates, the required score has been set between 8 and 10. The feedback will be calculated in accordance with the AICTE notification dated March 1, 2019.
The state government has made it mandatory for officers to serve at least one tenure in tribal, difficult, inaccessible or remote areas before promotion. However, officers with five years or less remaining until retirement have been given partial relief from this condition, though this exemption will not apply in cases of promotion. Officers who have not yet served in such areas will be compulsorily posted there based on seniority.
Several regions have been officially declared difficult and remote under the new rules. These include Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnaur, Churah and Mehla areas of Chamba district, Dodra-Kwar in Shimla district, selected panchayat areas of Rohru and Rampur, Chhota and Bara Bhangal in Kangra, Shillai and Sangrah in Sirmaur, and valley areas of Mandi district. In addition, stations located more than 20 kilometres from sub-divisional or tehsil headquarters, areas without bus connectivity, and places requiring a walking distance of more than three kilometres will also be treated as remote and rural.
The notification further clarifies that continuous ad-hoc service rendered in the feeder cadre will be counted as experience for promotion and confirmation, provided it was in accordance with recruitment rules and followed a proper selection process. Provisions have also been included to safeguard the rights of senior officers.
Officers promoted to the post of Principal will be required to clear the examination prescribed under the Himachal Pradesh Departmental Examination Rules, 1997. All appointments will be subject to the reservation norms applicable to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and other eligible categories.
