Contractual Jobs and Psychological Insecurity in Kashmir

In recent years, contractual employment has become the main form of public sector hiring in Jammu and Kashmir.

- Suhail Gaznavi

This is especially clear in higher education, where colleges and universities depend on temporary and shortterm staff to keep operations running.While these arrangements are often called convenient, their long-term impact on workers' mental and social wellbeing is rarely considered.

For many educated youth in Kashmir, contractual jobs bring uncertainty, anxiety, and exhaustion instead of opportunity. Each academic year brings new advertisements, repeated interviews, and the same ongoing insecurity.

The Higher Education Department of Jammu and Kashmir hires lecturers, teaching assistants, physical training instructors, and librarians under "academic arrangement" or "need-based" contracts.

These appointments usually last only one academic year and end automatically, no matter the employee's performance or the institution's needs.

Many of these teachers are NET-qualified or hold PhDs and have taught for years, but they remain legally temporary. This uncertainty affects personal life as well.