Srinagar, Nov 11 (NVI): Jammu and Kashmir Health and Medical Education Minister Sakina Masood Ittoo on Wednesday backed the demand for age relaxation in the ongoing Jammu and Kashmir Bank recruitment process, urging the bank authorities to increase the upper age limit to 40 years to provide a fair opportunity to aspiring candidates.
In a post on X, the minister said thousands of aspirants had lost valuable years waiting for recruitment opportunities and should not be made to suffer because of delays beyond their control.
“Dreams shouldn’t have an expiry date! Thousands of J&K Bank aspirants have lost precious years waiting for recruitment opportunities. They must not be punished for delays beyond their control,” Ittoo said.
She appealed to the bank authorities to extend the upper age limit to 40 years, saying eligible candidates deserved a fair chance to compete for the advertised posts.
“Give our youth a fair chance. Their future cannot wait,” she added.
The demand for age relaxation has gained momentum among job aspirants and political representatives following the bank’s latest recruitment notification.
The Jammu and Kashmir Bank has advertised 1,356 vacancies, including 323 posts of Probationary Officers and 1,033 posts of Banking Associates.
The upper age limit for candidates belonging to the Open Merit category has been fixed at 30 years, while applicable relaxations have been provided to candidates belonging to reserved categories.
Several aspirants have demanded an increase in the age limit, arguing that the prolonged gap between recruitment cycles has made many otherwise eligible candidates ineligible despite years of preparation.
The Jammu and Kashmir Students Association has also approached Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, seeking his intervention to extend the upper age limit to 40 years.
Ittoo is the first minister in the Omar Abdullah-led Council of Ministers to publicly support the demand for age relaxation in the ongoing recruitment process.—(NVI)
